Overhaul of the road Smolyan - Rudozem begins

"We are here today to launch a major overhaul of the road between Rudozem and Smolyan, which is extremely important for the region and will enable its development. Fifty-one million dollars will be invested. This is money from both the national budget and European funds under the Regional Development Programme.  The road is part of the main road communication in the district and the construction and repair works will last about 450 days", said the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov when the repair works on the nearly 22 km section of road III – 868 Rudozem – Smolyan were announced in the presence of Deputy Minister Dora Yankova, the Regional Governor Zahari Sirakov and the Mayor of the city Nikolay Melemov. The implementation of the project will improve the technical and operational characteristics of the third-class road and will achieve uniformity of the road surface. The main activities that will be implemented are the construction of new asphalt pavement, improvement of drainage. The route will be with new road signs, restraint systems and markings. There is also provision for the construction of retaining and decorative walls of different heights, as well as the repair of existing ones. The Minister informed that the RIA is also progressing with the design of the different stages of the speedway to Smolyan. The start of work is planned for next year, with the new road envisaging the construction of a third lane where possible. Member of the Management Board of RIA Eng. Ventsislav Atanasov explained that the route thus expected from all routes in the region is a project for which an EIA is to be carried out and a choice of option is to be made. The Minister announced that the repair of the main road communication of Smolyan - the roundabout to Madan - is also planned. Ivanov expressed hope that the talks between RIA and the municipal administration in Chepelare about the city's ring road will be concluded soon, and before the winter work on strengthening the landslide on the Krichim-Devin road will be completed. Minister Ivanov said that "we are looking forward to the final version of the budget for 2026, because there we have high expectations from the MRDPW, as this year we relaunched a huge part of the projects that have been delayed over the years, including not a small part for this region. I hope that the Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly will give this opportunity, which we very much wish Bulgarian citizens to travel on normal roads, because this is related to both convenience and road safety. This is an important condition for public presentation of our entire construction programme for 2026. Ivanov announced that work is currently underway to develop a full catalogue of roads that are without Act 16 in order to take the necessary action.