Hemus motorway

Hemus motorway
Автомагистрала „Хемус“
Hemus motorway highlighted in red and yellow
Route information
Length:	151 km (94 mi) 433 km (269 mi) planned 16 km (9.9 mi) under construction
Major junctions
From:	Sofia
To:	Varna (not constructed from Yablanitsa to Shumen, certain objects are under construction)
Location
Major cities:	Sofia, next to Botevgrad; Shumen, next to Varna (future: Pleven, Lovech, Veliko Tarnovo and Targovishte)
Highway system
Motorways in Bulgaria

The Hemus motorway (Bulgarian: Автомагистрала „Хемус“, Avtomagistrala "Hemus") or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a motorway currently under construction in Bulgaria. Its planned length is 433 km, of which 129 km are in operation as of 2006. The length in operation is divided into two sections — the first linking Sofia to Yablanitsa and the second Varna to Shumen. According to the plans, Hemus motorway would connect the capital city of Sofia with the third-largest city of Varna and the Black Sea, duplicating European route E70 (Varna–Shumen), European route E772 (Shumen–Yablanitsa) and European route E83 (Yablanitsa–Sofia).

The Pravets–Yablanitsa section of the Hemus motorway was officially opened on 5 December 1999. Due to the mountainous terrain through the Stara Planina the section, 5.47 km in length with another 16 km reconstructed, features two viaducts and one tunnel (Praveshki hanove), while the whole Sofia–Yablanitsa section has three more tunnels. The construction of the Pravets–Yablanitsa section began in the 1984 but ceased in the late 1980s due to lack of funds to be finished in 1998–1999. The 12.8 km section connecting Shumen with Kaspichan to the east was opened on 30 December 2005 and cost 77.6 million leva. In January 2013 National Company "Strategic Infrastructure Projects" tendered feasibility study for the rest of Hemus motorway (Yablanitsa-Panayot Volovo).

Miscellaneous

Bebresh Viaduct, regarded as the highest motorway bridge in the Balkans with a clearance of 120 m, is part of the Hemus motorway.

The motorway is named after the Haemus Mons, an ancient name of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina).

Gallery

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  Hemus motorway crossing the Balkan Mountains, between Vitinya and Botevgrad

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  The Hemus motorway near Botevgrad

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  The Viaduct at Vitinya Pass

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  Vitinya Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria

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  Echemishka Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria

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  Topli Dol Tunnel on A-2 Hemus Motorway, Bulgaria