Pamporovo landslide: access road to ski resort to be one-way in winter
From December 1, traffic will run towards Pamporovo in the morning and towards Smolyan in the afternoon. Hoteliers want asphalt, but the town lacks 300,000 euros.
Archive image · Photo: Dave Usher / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Traffic on the emergency road over the large landslide near Pamporovo will run in one direction only during the winter. The decision was taken at a meeting in Smolyan municipality, BNT reported. From December 1, cars will travel from Smolyan to Pamporovo until 1 pm and in the opposite direction from 1:30 pm. The main road collapsed in early May, and traffic was diverted onto the emergency section about a month later.
Hoteliers and resort workers are demanding that the whole emergency road be asphalted, as about 300 metres are only gravel. Stefan Prisadov, executive director of Pamporovo AD, warned that a gravel road could not be used in winter conditions.
Smolyan Mayor Nikolay Melemov said that after the cost estimate came to 300,000 euros, the municipality did not have the money. Regional Governor Georgi Pepelanov pledged that several dozen metres on the most critical stretch would be repaired and that the state would provide a snowplough to be permanently on duty there.