Vidin–Botevgrad expressway
Road in Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vidin–Botevgrad expressway (Bulgarian: Скоростен път „Видин–Ботевград“, romanized: Skorosten pat "Vidin–Botevgrad") is a partly existing, partly under construction and almost halfway planned expressway in Bulgaria, that will link the New Europe Bridge at the Danube border crossing to Romania near Vidin with the A2 Hemus motorway Sofia–Varna after completion. The expressway provides grade-separated dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction and it replaces or supersedes the existing I-1 road.
60.0 km (37.3 mi) under construction
84.8 km (52.7 mi) planned
| Vidin–Botevgrad expressway | |
|---|---|
| Скоростен път "Видин–Ботевград" | |
Vidin–Botevgrad expressway highlighted | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 201.9 km (125.5 mi) 57.1 km (35.5 mi) in service 60.0 km (37.3 mi) under construction 84.8 km (52.7 mi) planned |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Vidin, New Europe Bridge, E79; |
| To | Botevgrad, E79,  |
| Location | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Major cities | Montana, Vratsa, Mezdra |
| Highway system | |
The route is part of the Pan-European Corridor IV. It is also part of the European route E79, that runs from Miskolc (Hungary) to Thessaloniki (Greece) and part of the proposed Via Carpatia route.
History
In June 2014, tenders for construction of two sections between Botevgrad and Mezdra were announced.[1][2] In September 2014, the Road Infrastructure Agency announced that construction of Vidin–Botevgrad expressway shall be financed by an EIB loan.[3]
In the end of December 2015, the bypass of Montana was inaugurated,[4] followed by the bypass of Vratsa, initially with only two lanes on one carriageway.
On April 13, 2023, 7.5 kilometers along the settlements of Novachene and Skravena in the section Lyutidol-Botevgrad were put into operation. On March 5, 2024 the section Makresh to Bela was opened.[5][6] End of 2025, the section Mezdra-Lyutidol was set under traffic.
Sections of the expressway
| Section | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2.9 | New Europe Bridge - Vidin | In service |
| 1 | 29.6 | Vidin - Makresh | Under construction |
| 2.1 | 13.6 | Makresh - Bela | In service |
| 2.2 | 11.1 | Bela - Ruzhintsi | Under construction |
| 2.3 | 41.1 | Ruzhintsi - Montana | Tender |
| 2.4 | 12.5 | Montana By-Pass | In service |
| 3.1 | 28.7 | Montana - Vratsa | Planned |
| 3.2 | 15.0 | Vratsa By-Pass | Planned |
| 3.3 | 9.0 | Vratsa - Mezdra | In service |
| 4.1 | 13.4 | Mezdra - Lyutidol | In service |
| 4.2 | 19.3 | Lyutidol - Botevgrad | Under construction |
| 5.7 | Botevgrad By-Pass | In service |
Junction list
| Oblast (Province) | Location | Name | km | Destinations | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vidin | Vidin | New Europe Bridge | 0.0 |  Craiova |
In service | Northern terminus |
| Novo selo | 2.9 | Vidin, Koshava | In service | |||
| Bregovo | 6.1 | Vidin,  Bregovo |
Under Construction | One carriageway operational | ||
| Ruptsi | 7.6 | Under Construction | One carriageway operational, the junction will be abandoned after the expansion. | |||
| Novoseltsi | 8.5 | Vidin,  Vrashka chuka |
Under Construction | One carriageway operational | ||
| Vidin | 9.7 | Vidin-Southern Industrial Area  |
Under Construction | |||
| Dunavtsi | 20.1 | Dunavtsi, Sinagovtsi | Under Construction | |||
| Kula | Kula | 30.2 | Kula, Sratsimirovo | Under Construction | ||
| Vidin | 33.9 | |
In service | Temporary exit until opening of section to exit Kula | ||
| Makresh | Makresh | 36.1 | Makresh, Dimovo | In service | ||
| Dimovo | Bela | 46.4 | Bela, Dimovo |
In service | ||
| Ruzhintsi | Ruzhintsi | 58.6 | Medovnitsa, Ruzhintsi |
Under Construction | ||
| Montana | Montana | Belotintsi | 73.1 | Belotintsi |
Under Construction | |
| Vinishte | 85.2 | Smolyanovtsi, Vinishte |
Tender | |||
| Montana | 98.4 | Dolna Verenitsa, Montana |
Tender | |||
| Archar | 103.0 |  Archar, Montana |
In service | Emergency lanes planned | ||
| Lom | 104.6 |  Sofia, Lom |
In service | |||
| Montana | 108.6 | Montana, Petrohan Pass  |
In service | |||
| Nikolovo | Nikolovo | Planned | ||||
| Krapchene | 113.1 |  Krapchene, Dolni Dabnik |
Planned | |||
| Sumer | 119[a] | Sumer | Planned | |||
| Vratsa | Krivodol | Kravoder | 125 | Kravoder, Glavatsi | Planned | |
| Vratsa | Vratsa | 143 | Vratsa |
Planned | One carriageway operational | |
| Nephela | 145 | Nephela, Vratsa | Planned | |||
| Krivodol | 147 |  Krivodol, Vratsa |
Planned | |||
| Oryahovo | 149 |  Oryahovo, Vratsa |
Planned | |||
| Vratsa | 158 | Vratsa |
Planned | |||
| Mezdra | Ruska Bela | 159 | Ruska Bela | In service | Emergency lanes planned | |
| Moravitsa | 161 | Moravitsa | In service | |||
| Mezdra | 165 |  Mezdra, Brestnitsa |
In service | |||
| Durmantsi | 167 | Durmantsi | In service | |||
| Rebarkovo | 170 |  Rebarkovo, Novi Iskar |
In service | |||
| 176 | (490 m) | In service | ||||
| 176 | (340 m) | In service | ||||
| Lyutidol | 177 | Lyutidol | In service | |||
| Sofia | Botevgrad | Novachene | 187 | Novachene | Under construction | Partly operational |
| Botevgrad | 195 | Skrawena, Botevgrad |
Under construction | |||
| Novachene | 199 |  Botevgrad, Trudovets, Pleven |
In service | |||
| Hemus | 202 |  Sofia, Varna |
In service | Southern terminus | ||
