Republic road I-5 () is a major road in central

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 Macedo ...

. It runs between

Danube Bridge The Danube Bridge (also known as the Friendship Bridge; bg, Мост на дружбата, ''Most na druzhbata'' or, more commonly, Дунав Mост, ''Dunav most''; ro, Podul Prieteniei or ''Podul de la Giurgiu'') is a steel truss bridge ...

, at the Danube border with

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and the

Makaza Makaza ( bg, Маказа, gr, Μακάζα), previously also known as Balkan Toresi, is a mountain pass in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, connecting southernmost central Bulgaria with north-easternmost Greece and thus the regions of Northern an ...

pass, at the border crossing to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The total length of the road is . Most of it provides one driving lane per direction. Road I-5 follows

European route E85 European route E85 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. The E 85 starts from Klaipėda (Lithuania) runs south through Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to Greece, ending at Alexandroupo ...

from

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...

Description

Road I-5 begins from

, at the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

border with

. The road bypasses

and runs south. It bypasses

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

and then turns southwest before reaching

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internatio ...

. In February 2015, the government announced plans to build Veliko Tarnovo–Ruse motorway, that will supersede I-5. Currently the road passes through the Balkan Mountains via the

Shipka Pass Shipka Pass ( bg, Шипченски проход, ) (el. 1150 m./3820 ft.) is a scenic mountain pass through the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It marks the border between Stara Zagora province and Gabrovo province. The pass connects the t ...

(el. . To improve the traffic conditions, a 3.2 km tunnel is planned to be built. The construction of the

bypass, the first stage of the project, already has begun in 2013. The heavyweight freight traffic uses another road through the Pass of the Republic to cross the mountain. The road leaves the Balkan Mountains at Shipka and then passes through the centre of

Kazanlak Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountai ...

. It bypasses Stara Zagora before connecting with

Trakia motorway The Trakia motorway (, ) or Thrace motorway, designated A1, is a motorway in Bulgaria. It connects the capital city of Sofia, the city of Plovdiv and the city of Burgas on the Black Sea coast. The motorway is named after the historical region of ...

(A1) at Stara Zagora interchange. South of Dimitrovgrad, road I-5 will make connection with Maritsa motorway (A4), which shall provide fast and comfortable access to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, at

Kapitan Andreevo Kapitan Andreevo ( bg, Капитан Андреево ) is a village near the Bulgaria—Turkey—Greece tripoint in Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province, southern Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 948 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Shidero ...

border checkpoint. A new 24 km section of road I-5 between

Kardzhali Kardzhali ( bg, Кърджали , ''Kărdžali''; tr, Kırcaali; gr, Κάρτζαλι, ''Kártzali''), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Pro ...

and the village of Podkova opened to traffic in February 2014, providing safer and faster access to Makaza border crossing to Greece.

References

External links

Road network of Bulgaria
at RIA
Detailed road maps of Bulgaria
Bulgarian Visitor Information website Roads in Bulgaria European route E85 {{Bulgaria-road-stub