Bulgaria to get Europe’s longest road tunnel

The longest road tunnel in Europe will be built along the new 65 kilometre stretch of the Struma highway in Bulgaria. Two tunnels, totalling almost 37 kilometres, will be built underneath the Kresna gorge between the towns of Blagoevgrad and Sandanski. The 150 kilometre Struma highway runs from the village of Daskalovo to the Greek border and is part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor IV and the Trans-European North-South Highway. The tunnels are required for environmental reasons and will be
March 13, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The longest road tunnel in Europe will be built along the new 65 kilometre stretch of the Struma highway in Bulgaria.  Two tunnels, totalling almost 37 kilometres, will be built underneath the Kresna gorge between the towns of Blagoevgrad and Sandanski.  

The 150 kilometre Struma highway runs from the village of Daskalovo to the Greek border and is part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor IV and the Trans-European North-South Highway.

The tunnels are required for environmental reasons and will be dug 30 metres underground. The projected cost is US$1.3 billion.

“This is the longest tunnel facility in Europe and the second longest in the world,” said minister of Regional Development Desislava Terzieva.  She also said that tenders for the construction will be issued by the middle of this year and will continue through 2014, and the Struma highway will be toll free.   

The project also includes three helipads suitable for emergency evacuation, a control centre for servicing the two tunnels and the highway with winter maintenance equipment, ambulances, fire apparatus and surveillance cameras.
Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • April 16, 2014
    Flagship French motorway inaugurated
    The inauguration of the French Landes A63 motorway marked the culmination of 27 months of major works carried out adjacent to traffic by the economic interest group GIE A63. The road concessionaire, Atlandes, of which Egis is a shareholder, had awarded the construction contract to GIE A63, which then hired Egis for the turnkey integration of fixed and operational equipment and an 80 per cent share of the engineering, procurement and construction management. Atlandes also awarded Egis the subsequent operati
    Read More
  • September 12, 2012
    Success of Kuala Lumpur's dual purpose tunnel
    Malaysia’s capital boasts a unique piece of infrastructure; a combined stormwater and motorway tunnel, the longest multi-purpose tunnel in the world. Kuala Lumpur’s Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) was conceived as a project under the Malaysian Federal Government to alleviate the flooding problem in the city centre. Although a booming city and the nerve centre for Malaysia’s economy, KL was built along the flood plains of the Klang River and, since its earliest days has been subjected to floodi
    Read More
  • May 31, 2013
    Temporary traffic monitoring with Bluetooth and wi-fi
    David Crawford reviews developments in temporary ITS. Widespread take-up of technologies such as Bluetooth and wi-fi are encouraging the emergence of more sophisticated, while still cost effective, ITS responses to the traffic issues posed by temporary road situations such as work zones and special events. Andy Graham of traffic solutions specialists White Willow Consulting says: “A machine-to-machine radio link is far easier and cheaper than reading characters on a plate.” There can be other plusses. Tech
    Read More
  • November 22, 2013
    Brisbane to build combined road/rail tunnel
    Australia’s Queensland Government has revealed concept designs for what would be the world’s first double-deck bus and rail tunnel to replace the planned Cross River Rail project. The 15 metres wide, the US$4.6 billion underground bus and train (UBAT) tunnel would be capable of accommodating a double-track railway and two bus lanes with three underground combined bus-and-rail stations. In a statement outlining the UBAT programme, Premier Campbell Newman said: “The project we are announcing today deliver
    Read More

Highlighted Content