The largest new road project in the country will be commissioned by Burgas Municipality. Our Sea Municipality announced a design and construction contract for BGN 140 million for a bypass of Meden Rudnik quarter, and according to BNR the length is only 3.4 km. This is turning out to be one of the most expensive sections in the modern history of Bulgaria – over BGN 41 million per kilometre. "Capital" sent an inquiry to Burgas Municipality regarding the reason for the high price and the site complexity.

The stretch in question is part of the planned route of the future so-called long bypass of Burgas, which will connect the northern bypass completed last year with the I-9 road, i.e. the road to Sozopol and Tsarevo. The aim is to take the transit traffic out of the town completely, as, especially in the summer season, the traffic is congested because of tourists.

The contract was advertised on 20 June and the deadline for submission of tenders is 5 August. For now, the funding of the project is questionable, as the Burgas Municipality explained to "Capital" that the funds must be provided in stages through the state budget and municipal co-financing.

The southern bypass will be twice as expensive as the already completed northern bypass of Burgas, which takes traffic from the Trakia Highway to Sunny Beach. Initially it cost about BGN 57 million, but after the indexation the price reached nearly BGN 64 million. Its length is 4.7 km and the contractor of the project was Patstroy VDH (previuosly Patstroy Burgas), owned by the businessman Veliko Zhelev. The road agency contracted for the bypass in the late summer of 2020, and the bypass was opened to traffic in 2023, though the plan called for it to happen a year earlier.

The Project

The bypass of Meden Rudnik is part of the Burgas – Sozopol – Tsarevo and a link with the future four-lane route Burgas – Malko Tarnovo – Istanbul, the municipality told Capital.