Trakia motorway

Trakia motorway
Автомагистрала „Тракия“
Route information
Length:	242.938 km (150.955 mi) Planned: 368 kilometres (229 mi)
Major junctions
From:	Sofia
To:	Burgas (under construction from Stara Zagora to Karnobat)
Location
Major cities:	Sofia, next to Pazardzhik, next to Plovdiv, next to Stara Zagora, Burgas
Highway system
Motorways in Bulgaria

Trakia motorway near the town of Vakarel

The Trakia motorway (Bulgarian: Aвтомагистрала „Тракия“, Avtomagistrala "Trakiya") or Thrace motorway, designated A1, is a motorway currently in construction in Bulgaria. It is planned to connect the capital of Sofia with Burgas and the Black Sea through the second-largest city of Plovdiv. The motorway is named after the historical region of Thrace, the northern (Bulgarian) part of which it runs through. The Trakia motorway's planned length of 368 km is almost constructed, as of 2010 125 km are in construction and 243 km in operation. The part in operation is divided into two sections - the first linking Sofia to Stara Zagora and the second Burgas to Karnobat.

The construction and future concession of the motorway has been the subject of much controversy in 2005 and 2006, as a contract with a Portuguese company was renegotiated. However in 2007 a final arrangement has been made by the local government to fully complete the motorway by 2012.[1] The Bulgarian Road Infrastructure agency has announced that the construction of the Yambol to Karnobat is scheduled to begin September 3, 2010 [2]. A toll fee is to be collected from all vehicles, which is to be determined by the government. For the first year of operation it will be around 0.025 euro/km.

There is a not approved by the government plan for extension to Kalotina and the motorway currently starts at the southeastern end of the Sofia ring road. Recently the minister of transport said that the motorway will run through the northern tangent of the improved Sofia ring-road. The Maritsa motorway designated A3, which will branch off from the A1 Tracian Highway from east of Plovdiv just west of Chirpan and 5 km north of Parvomay it will run south east to Kapitan Andreevo border crossing.

Gallery

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  Trakia Motorway at Vakarel-Panagyurishte junction