Republic road I-1 () is a major road in western

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 Mac ...

. It runs between the

New Europe Bridge The New Europe Bridge ( bg, Мостът Нова Европа, Mostŭt Nova Evropa; ro, Podul Noua Europă) is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania. It is the second bridge on the shared section ...

, 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, a ...

, and the village of

Kulata Kulata ( bg, Кулата , , el, Κούλα or Κούλατα) is a village in Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border c ...

, 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 wit ...

. The total length of the road is . Most of it provides one driving lane per direction and it is planned to be superseded or replaced in all sections by either motorways, or expressways.

Description

Road I-1 begins from

(Vidin–Calafat Bridge), 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 , ...

border crossing to Romania, some 5 km from

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...

. The bridge entered in service in June 2013, providing two carriageways with two lane each. Road I-1 bypasses Vidin from west and then goes through the centre of Dimovo. A dual carriage bypass of

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

was inaugurated in 2015. Another bypass, of

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

, opened to traffic in July 2014, but providing a single carriageway. Road I-1 runs through the centre of

Mezdra Mezdra ( bg, Мездра ) is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located on the left bank of the Iskar River just north of its gorge through the Balkan Mountains. History Although the area around it has been inhabite ...

and then it bypasses

Botevgrad Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia. History and name The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) unt ...

before making connection with

Hemus motorway The Hemus motorway (, ) or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a partially built motorway in Bulgaria. Its planned length is 418 km, of which 191 km are in operation . The motorway in operation is divided into two sections — the first ...

(A2). Botevgrad-Vidin expressway is planned to supersede road I-1 between Botevgrad and Vidin. E 79-2

Through the

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 be ...

road I-1 runs parallel to Hemus motorway and climbs via the

Vitinya Pass Vitinya Pass ( bg, Витиня) is a mountain pass in the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) in Bulgaria. It connects Sofia and Botevgrad. The Hemus motorway passes it in a tunnel just below the summit. The motorway includes a notable girder brid ...

. It enters the

Sofia Valley The Sofia Valley ( bg, Софийска котловина, Sofiyska kotlovina), or Sofia Field ( bg, Софийско поле, Sofiysko pole, link=no), is a valley in central western Bulgaria bordering Stara Planina to the northeast, the Viskya ...

and then joins 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 ...

in its eastern and southern arcs, providing also access to

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 Knyazhevo neighbourhood, road I-1 turns through the Vladaya Pass. Close to

Pernik Pernik ( bg, Перник ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks ...

, at Dragichevo interchange, road I-1 merges into

Struma motorway The Struma Motorway (, ) is a motorway currently under construction in Bulgaria. The motorway is located in the Yugozapaden area in South West Bulgaria, and follows the route Sofia- Pernik-Dupnitsa- Blagoevgrad- Sandanski to Kulata on the border ...

(A3) to the village of Dolna Dikanya. Then, road I-1 runs parallel to the Struma motorway between

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second ...

and

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centr ...

, which the road bypasses before entering the picturesque

Kresna Gorge Kresna Gorge ( bg, Кресненско дефиле) is a steep valley in south-western Bulgaria, stretching about 18 km. The gorge has been formed by the Struma River, which flows from the Vitosha mountains. Kresna gorge has a rich biodiversity, ...

. After bypassing

Sandanski Sandanski ( bg, Сандански ; el, Σαντάνσκι, formerly known as Sveti Vrach, bg, Свети Врач, until 1947) is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after the Bulga ...

, between Melnik interchange and the village of Marino pole, road I-1 was demolished and replaced by a section of Struma motorway, which entered in service in 2015. Finally, road I-1 reaches

checkpoint, at the border with

References

External links

Road network of Bulgaria
''RIA'' Roads in Bulgaria {{Bulgaria-road-stub