site.btaInterior Ministry Implements Measures to Ease Traffic around Winter Holidays

To help manage traffic, additional teams will be deployed at the entry and exit roads in Sofia and around shopping centres on Friday, Svetoslav Velichkov, head of Traffic Control and Event Security at the Traffic Police department of the Sofia Directorate of Interior, told reporters on Friday morning.

Velichkov said that traffic will be managed with cameras, where possible, and by Traffic Police officers elsewhere. While traffic is normal on Friday morning, it is expected to increase throughout the day. The police expect traffic to increase significantly on December 23 and 24.

On January 4, there will be restrictions for trucks heading towards Sofia on the Struma, Trakia, and Hemus motorways. The aim is to ease traffic, as heavy car traffic is expected. Reversible traffic will be introduced at the Simitli junction of the Struma motorway on December 22 and 23. Reversible traffic may also be introduced in the direction of Sofia. Two lanes will be opened in the direction of Kulata.

A ban on trucks over 12 tonnes will be introduced on December 23 and 30, announced Miroslav Tsenov, director of the Situation Center and Traffic Management Directorate at the Road Infrastructure Agency. Traffic will be restricted between midday and 10 p.m. on all motorways.