The Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) has officially announced that a temporary restriction on the movement of heavy goods vehicles weighing over 12 tons will be imposed during the holidays surrounding September 6 – Unification Day. The restrictions will affect the busiest road arteries in the country, including the Trakia, Hemus, and Struma motorways, as well as a critical section of the I-1 first-class road in the Blagoevgrad region. The primary goal of these regulatory measures is to facilitate mass travel for citizens during the holidays, ensure greater road safety, and minimize the risk of accidents that often occur due to improper overtaking and the formation of long queues of heavy vehicles in heavy traffic conditions.
The established schedule for restricting heavy goods traffic over 12 tons is as follows:
- On Friday, September 4, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the movement of trucks leaving the capital will be restricted. Vehicles over 12 tons traveling towards Sofia will not be affected by this restriction.
- On Saturday, September 5, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., movement will be restricted for trucks over 12 tons leaving Sofia.
- On Monday, September 7, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the ban will apply to heavy trucks traveling towards Sofia. During this period, vehicles leaving the capital will be able to travel without restrictions.
Exceptions to the imposed ban have been provided for specific sections of the national road network:
- On the Hemus motorway (in the section from Sofia, km 0, to the junction with the roundabout at road I-4, 87th km) and along the entire route of the Struma motorway, including the section of road I-1 between the Simitli junction (376th km) and the Kresna junction (402nd km), the restrictions do not apply to vehicles carrying out public passenger transport. Also permitted are motor vehicles transporting dangerous goods (ADR), live animals, perishable foods, and temperature-controlled cargo, as well as specialized rendering service vehicles.
- On the Trakia motorway, the exception applies to public passenger transport. Additionally, in the direction towards Sofia, the ban does not affect the transport of dangerous goods (ADR) in the section from the Ihtiman junction (34th km) to the Vakarel junction (23rd km).
With a view to ensuring better traffic flow and safety for those traveling to Bansko and other tourist destinations in the area, a temporary organization using reversible traffic flow will be introduced on road I-1 near Simitli:
- On September 4 and 5, passage in the direction towards Kulata will be carried out in two lanes, while in the opposite direction – towards Sofia – traffic will be restricted to one lane.
- On September 7, the organization will be reversed, providing two lanes for vehicles traveling towards Sofia and one lane for those in the direction of Kulata.
The RIA reminds drivers that they can use the interactive map on the website of the Agency and the National Toll Administration. It provides real-time information on traffic intensity, the number of vehicles that have passed in the last 15 minutes and the past hour, as well as detailed data for specific road sections. This functionality helps drivers plan their routes according to traffic density. The Agency urges drivers to exercise increased caution, strictly follow traffic rules and speed limits, and calls on them not to undertake risky overtaking maneuvers that endanger all other road users.