Initial plans for the Hemus Highway to pass 30 km away from Veliko Tarnovo have been abandoned and it is now official that the motorway will be built just 15 km away from Veliko Tarnovo. It will connect Varna with the capital Sofia and will run near the village of Polikraishte, north of V.T. A major junction will also be constructed; Hemus Highway will intersect there with the future Ruse – Veliko Tarnovo Motorway (for which I am going to tell you more in the next couple of days).
According to the Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova the change of the route is economically well-grounded – tourist flow, transit traffic to and from Europe through the Danube Bridge, as well as the airport in Gorna Oryahovitsa are the factors that tipped the balance in favour of the new route.
The Minister also said that Hemus Highway stays on top of the priorities list of the Government. A new project will be needed for this lot of the motorway. According to some estimations the change of the route will raise the cost of the highway with roughly 20,000,000 euro. Other experts claim that no additional expenditures will be inflicted.
The government hopes to find resources for the completion of Hemus Highway from the European Investment Bank or through the Juncker Investment Plan. According to Pavlova if funding is secured the completion of the motorway will take no less than 3 years.
