The Hemus motorway (, ) or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a partially built
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. Its planned length is 418 km, of which 191 km are in operation . The motorway in operation is divided into two sections — the first one links the capital
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
with Boaza near
Yablanitsa
Yablanitsa ( bg, Ябланица; also ''Jablanica'', ''Iablanica'', ''Yablanica'', ''Jablanitsa'', ''Iablanitsa'', ''Jablanitza'', ''Yablanitza'', ''Iablanitza'', ) is a small town in the westernmost part of Lovech Province, central-north Bulga ...
, crossing Stara planina (
Balkan mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
), and the second segment connects
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
and
Buhovtsi
Buhovtsi ( bg, Буховци, also transcribed as Bukhovtsi, Buhovtzi or Buhovci) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast ...
near
Targovishte
Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province.
It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of ...
. According to the plans, Hemus motorway would connect Sofia with the third-largest city of Varna, at the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
coast, duplicating
European route E70
European route E70 is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from A Coruña in Spain in the west to the Georgian city of Poti in the east.
Itinerary
The E 70 routes through ten European countries, and includes one sea-crossing, ...
(Varna–Shumen),
European route E772
European route E772 is a class B road, part of the International E-road network in Bulgaria. It connects the two sections of the Hemus motorway (A2) constructed so far, and is part of one of the most important transport corridors in the country: ...
(Shumen–Yablanitsa) and
European route E83
European route E 83 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Byala, Bulgaria and ends in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.
The road follows: Byala - Pleven - Yablanitsa - Botevgrad
Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a ...
(Yablanitsa–Sofia).
History
October 4, 1974
The construction of the motorway officially began. The
groundbreaking ceremony
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
was attended by the First Secretary of the
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
(BCP),
Todor Zhivkov
Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( bg, Тодор Христов Живков ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 ...
.
1999
The
Pravets
Pravets or Pravetz ( bg, Правец, also transliterated as Pravec, ) is a town in Pravets Municipality in central western Bulgaria, located approximately from the capital Sofia. Pravets is home town of Pravetz computers.
Pravets has a populat ...
–
Yablanitsa
Yablanitsa ( bg, Ябланица; also ''Jablanica'', ''Iablanica'', ''Yablanica'', ''Jablanitsa'', ''Iablanitsa'', ''Jablanitza'', ''Yablanitza'', ''Iablanitza'', ) is a small town in the westernmost part of Lovech Province, central-north Bulga ...
section of the Hemus motorway was officially opened on 5 December 1999. Due to the mountainous terrain through the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, the 5.47 km section together with another 16 km reconstructed, features two
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
s and one
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
(''Praveshki hanove''), while the whole Sofia–Yablanitsa section has three more tunnels. The construction of the Pravets–Yablanitsa section began in 1984 but ceased in the late 1980s due to lack of funds to eventually be finished in 1998–1999.
2005
The 12.8 km section connecting Shumen with
Kaspichan
Kaspichan ( bg, Каспичан, ) is a town in central northeastern Bulgaria, part of Shumen Province. It is located in the eastern Danubian Plain, some from the major Black Sea port Varna and around from the key Danube ports of Ruse and Sil ...
to the east was opened on 30 December 2005 and cost 77.6 million
leva
Leva may refer to:
* Bulgarian lev, Bulgarian currency
* ''Leva'' (grasshopper), a genus of insects
* Levice
Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies o ...
.
2013
* In July 2013 a segment of the motorway at Shumen opened.
* In August 2013 a 8.46 km segment, connecting the
Sofia ring road
The Sofia ring road ( bg, Софийски околовръстен път, ''Sofíyski okolovrásten pat''), also called in Bulgarian Okolovrástnoto shosé (''Околовръстното шосе'', The ring chaussée), often shortened to just ...
and the Yana junction, opened to traffic.
2015
In August 2015, a 4.9 km segment, including the Belokopitovo interchange (with I-2 road), was inaugurated.
2019
In October 2019, а 9.3 km segment, connecting Yablanitsa with the I-4 road near the Boaza ravine of Vit, was inaugurated.
2022
In October 2022, а 16.3 km segment, connecting Belokopitovo with the village of
Buhovtsi
Buhovtsi ( bg, Буховци, also transcribed as Bukhovtsi, Buhovtzi or Buhovci) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast ...
near
Targovishte
Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province.
It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of ...
, was inaugurated.
Recent Developments
In January 2013
National Company "Strategic Infrastructure Projects" The National Company Strategic Infrastructure Projects (NCSIP) was a parallel road agency in Bulgaria during the 2011 - 2016 period. NCSIP was created with the amendments in the Bulgarian Roads Act in 2011. The company was a state enterprise subordi ...
(NCSIP), a state-run company, tendered feasibility study for the remaining sections of Hemus motorway (Yablanitsa-
Panayot Volovo Panayot ( bg, Панайот, link=no, sq, Panajot, link=no) is a name derived from the Greek Panagiotis.
Image:The Viaduct at Vitinya Pass (Bulgarian Витиня).jpg, The Viaduct at Vitinya Pass
File:Vitinya-Tunnel.jpg, Vitinya Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria
File:Echemishka-Tunnel.jpg, Echemishka Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria
File:Topli-Dol-Tunel.jpg, Topli Dol Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria