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 Macedo ...
. 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 h ...
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, Rom ...
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, ...
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 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 viaducts 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.
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 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 ...
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