Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Construction of the Hemus Motorway has been going on for half a century

Photo: BGNES

On October 4, 1974, the construction of the Hemus Motorway from Sofia to Varna started. Back then, the chairman of the State Council and leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Todor Zhivkov, turned the first sod for the country's northern transport axis. This was also the start of construction of the motorway ring in Bulgaria. The main designer of the route is engineer Dena Palankova, BTA recalls. 

By 1985, the difficult section with numerous tunnels and bridges passing through the Vitinia Pass was completed. The highest viaduct in Bulgaria (120 meters) is situated in this section. The planned length of the highway route is 418 km, which makes "Hemus" the longest motorway in Bulgaria, but currently 191 km are completed and in use. A new 7 km-long section is soon to be put in use.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Bulgarian National Bank has published clarifications on how the single currency will be written

In its “Questions and Answers” section on the introduction of the euro, the Bulgarian National Bank has published a clarification on how the single currency should be denoted and written in accordance with EU regulations. The name of the..

published on 11/14/25 10:01 AM

Bulgaria's government approves 2026 draft budget

The government approved the draft Law on the 2026  State Budget, as well as the Updated Medium-Term Budget Forecast for the 2026–2028 period. In connection with the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2026, all figures have been prepared in..

published on 11/13/25 3:35 PM

BNB Governor: Banks in Bulgaria are ready for the euro

Citizens should remain calm about the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria from January 1, 2026, as the Bulgarian National Bank and commercial banks are ready for all processes related to the currency conversion and distribution of euro banknotes. This..

published on 11/4/25 2:28 PM