The construction of a new tunnel at the Gabrovo Bypass Road project recently has started. It belongs to a part of the third stage (from 5). The tunnel length is 540 m. It consists of a single tube with a cross section of approximately 80 m², two traffic lanes of 3,75 m, two 0,5 m berms and 0,75 m sidewalks Most of the tunnel construction is expected to take place by explosive works. All the activities for the design and reinforcement will be completed within 250 days. The Gabrovo Road Bypass is a part of Trans-European Transport Corridor No. 9 – Bucharest – Ruse – Dimitrovgrad – Alexandroupolis. It is used to cross Stara Planina Mountain in the central part of Bulgaria.
 

Fig. 1 Gabrovo bypass map

Total cost of the project is around 68 mil euros and is co-financed by the EU Cohesion Fund and the Bulgarian national budget, through the Operational Programme on Transport 2007-2013. The contractor for the entire project is the PSVT Consortium. The construction of stages 1 to 4 includes the stage road connection with I-5 and preparation of technical design and all necessary procedures for issuance of a building permit. Stage 5, which includes a tunnel under Mount "Shipka" is planned to be built by 2020.
Source: api.bg