Road Infrastructure Agency already has a clearer plan on how to get to the long-awaited major repair of the Asparuhov Bridge in Varna. The facility, which tens of thousands of cars pass every day and which has not seen a complete repair for nearly 40 years, is included in the schedule for detailed inspection and subsequent reconstruction. .
First, a detailed inspection of the entire bridge structure will be carried out, which will show the full scope of the upcoming work and its approximate cost. Minister Ivan Ivanov explained that "this is a complex infrastructure facility, not a neighborhood street that is fixed in two months", and warned that the expertise alone will take time - the goal is for it to be ready by the spring of 2026.
Only after the results are released will a public procurement for engineering be announced - a package "design plus construction". In a more optimistic scenario, this means that the actual repair activities on the Asparuhov Bridge will start no earlier than the spring of 2027, if the institutions work quickly and without delays.
The important news for drivers is that the repair will not completely close the Asparuhov Bridge. The chairman of the Supervisory Board of API, Eng. Yordan Valchev, assured that the idea is to work in stages, with the transfer of traffic to the free lanes and temporary traffic organization. "We will not leave Varna without a bridge. There will be inconveniences, but not a complete blockade," he commented, adding that relieving routes in the city will be sought in parallel.
While the big repair is being prepared on paper, so-called "sanitary" repairs are being made on the bridge. At the end of November, a section of over 2,000 sq. m of flooring was rehabilitated, and the activities were completed in one night. The deputy mayor for infrastructure of Varna noted that the contractor has provided enough equipment and people "so as not to keep the bridge dug up for two days", and the traffic passed through the adjacent lanes. However, these patches are a temporary measure - the real change will come with the major repair, for which Varna residents have been waiting for specific dates for years.