Topli Dol tunnel closed: Arabakonak pass road to be repaired within 20 days
The closure on the Hemus motorway has been causing tailbacks for about a week. Extra restrictions apply to heavy lorries heading towards Varna.
Archive image · Photo: Sebastian Dumitrescu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Because the Topli Dol tunnel on the Hemus motorway is closed, Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency is urgently repairing the road over the Arabakonak pass as a detour. The work is to be completed in around 20 days, BNT reported. The tunnel has been closed for repairs in the direction of Sofia for about a week, causing tailbacks on the Hemus. The old road via Vitinya, the main alternative, is also closed and will be repaired later.
Repairs to the tunnel will be sped up with work in two shifts, Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov announced. “We will not allow the contractor to fall behind,” he said. The Road Infrastructure Agency does not yet know how much the repairs will cost. Its board chairman Alexander Todorov said the viaducts and structures posed no danger and could carry the full traffic load.
Heavy lorries will be banned from the Hemus towards Varna on Friday from 3 pm to 9 pm, on Sunday afternoon and on Monday morning. Drivers have been advised to wait or use the Petrohan pass and the Iskar gorge instead. The Chamber of Automobile Carriers pointed out that lorries are normally not allowed on those routes. The road to Pernik via Vladaya is also due to close for repairs soon.