The repair of the Danube Bridge at Ruse will be carried out without traffic stoppage

RIA makes the clarification on the occasion of circulated false information

The main repair of the Danube Bridge at Ruse, which will start on 10 July, will be carried out without traffic stops and will not close the facility. The Road Infrastructure Agency makes this clarification on the occasion of false claims circulated in the Romanian media and in order to inform all travellers accurately, precisely and correctly.

Up-to-date information about the temporary traffic organisation and the repair works can be found in the special section ‘Information on the Danube Bridge repair’ on the website of the Road Infrastructure Agency. The Agency's press office will provide regular updates on the refurbishment and is available for further questions and clarifications. This is the only way to ensure accurate, precise and correct information to all travellers.

We would like to remind you that the construction works will be carried out daily for 10—12 hours per day, during daylight hours, according to the specifics of the works to be carried out. The work process will be organised and carried out so that vehicles will pass in a staggered two-way manner in the lane not being worked in. The works are planned to be carried out in 6 stages. In the first two is the major repair of the trestle of the facility on Bulgarian territory. A stretch of about 400 metres will be closed for the works. First, the traffic in the entrance lane to Bulgaria will be restricted and then the exit lane in the direction of Romania. The estimated time for completion of the repair works in this section is approximately 4 and a half months for each of the lanes.

For better traffic organisation, traffic regulation will be carried out with adaptive traffic lights. It will be relocatable and can be placed in the relevant part of the bridge being repaired. The gauge and height of the facility does not allow for safe nighttime operations, and protecting the lives and health of commuters and construction workers on site is paramount. If the execution of some activities can be carried out safely during the dark part of the day, this will be done.

The route of the Danube Bridge on Bulgarian territory, which is part of the I-2 road, has a total length of 1,057 km. Since its commissioning 70 years ago, in 1954, no major repairs have been carried out. Joint strengthening was done more than 22 years ago and the waterproofing and asphalt pavement was replaced in 2011. The technical design for the renovation of the facility provides for the complete replacement of the asphalt layers, panels, waterproofing, new restraint systems, markings, etc.

The state administration has informed the Romanian embassy in Sofia about all this several times this year. The Romanian authorities have been informed in a series of meetings and letters about the upcoming repairs as well as the emergency repairs carried out on the Danube Bridge pavement in May and June 2024.

We would like to remind you again that the Road Infrastructure Agency team is at the disposal of all Bulgarian and foreign media to inform the drivers quickly, accurately and precisely.