Bulgaria's roads are not being treated against ice, even though temperatures fall below zero at night and black ice is a risk, the European Centre for Transport Policies has warned.
In a letter sent days ago to the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and prime minister Rumen Radev, the centre said there is not enough money for winter road upkeep and payments are late. It said people's lives and health are in direct danger. Days after the letter, there was still no reply.
The centre wants the state to take specific urgent steps. It says that without funding, snow clearing and de-icing this winter are at risk.
"There is no readiness for winter maintenance in the country, none has been set up, despite claims by various institutions that this is not so," centre chair Diana Rusinova told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). She said the letter was sent because reports keep coming in that preparations are lacking.
Rusinova believes the danger is already here. At night, thermometers show minus 3, 4 or 5 degrees and the road surface is wet. These are conditions for black ice, a thin layer of ice on the asphalt, and the road sections are not being treated.
"We can all see what is happening on the road, that the needed amounts of salt, brine and other materials used for upkeep and clearing have still not been stockpiled," she added.
Drains and drainage systems were not cleaned last summer, Rusinova said. This is usually done in August. Branches and plants along the roads have not been cut back either. In heavier wet snow, branches or whole trees can fall onto the road.
She believes the lack of preparation leads to roads blocked by snow and serious accidents. She hopes DANS and the prime minister will reply, and calls their silence highly irresponsible.
Last week there was one serious crash each on the Trakia motorway and in northwestern Bulgaria, and the sections were blocked for hours.