site.btaLandslide Sweeps Away Section of Smolyan-Pamporovo Road, Temporary Bypass Road Considered

A massive landslide destroyed over 60 metres of the Smolyan-Pamporovo road on Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works reported. Smolyan Mayor Nikolay Melemov declared a state of emergency. A team of geologists and engineers on Saturday inspected the section and concluded that at this stage, the only feasible option for traffic is an existing road that passes above the landslide zone.

On Friday morning, the section of the Smolyan-Pamporovo third-class road was restricted due to subsidence of the roadway. The compromised section was approximately 10 metres long. Shortly thereafter, a massive crack completely blocked passage across the road. The section was secured and marked with warning signs, and teams were dispatched to the site to assess the situation and take immediate action. The affected section had already grown to about 70 metres in length, with cracks in the asphalt pavement along its entire length. It was evident that the earth was shifting, and the cracks were widening. In the afternoon, the landslide began and swept away dozens of metres of the roadway. The slide also dragged down the slope dozens of coniferous trees.

Gas and electricity supply in the area were cut off for safety reasons. Traffic for all motor vehicles on Road III-8641 Pamporovo-Smolyan was suspended in the area of the Raykovski Livadi locality at the 4 km mark. Traffic in the direction of Pamporovo-Smolyan was rerouted via Road III-864 Pamporovo-Stoykite-Road III-866 Stoykite-Smolyan and back, and through the Rozhen Pass. 

On Saturday, a team of geologists and engineers inspected the landslide site. Marin Kushev, director of the regional road authority in Smolyan, told BTA that they assessed the possibility of taking measures for temporary stabilization and construction of a bypass road to restore traffic until a permanent solution is designed. He added that affected properties will be inspected and possibilities will be analyzed for widening an existing road that passes above the landslide zone and creating passing points so it can temporarily accommodate traffic. According to him, it will become clear at the beginning of next week whether this route can be used as a temporary bypass road. Preliminary observations by specialists indicate that the terrain is in relatively good condition, with no visible signs of active deformation, but a final assessment is still pending. The estimated length of the potential temporary road is about one and a half kilometers.

Also on Saturday, a regional crisis management team met at the Regional Administration in Smolyan. Regional Governor Zarko Marinov told BTA that a water and sewerage team conducted an inspection near the collector in the Raykovski Livadi area, where technicians heard cracking and other noises indicating an ongoing landslide activity. “Work is underway to restore gas supply. There are no issues with electricity or water supply in the area,” Marinov added. Irrigation Systems head Kostadin Cholakov conducted an inspection and determined that there was no danger to the Pamporovo Dam.

Caretaker Minister of Agriculture and Food Ivan Hristanov, too, said there is no problem with the Pamporovo Dam following the landslide in the area. “Half an hour after the landslide began, we started mobilizing teams. They went to the site, and we conducted drone surveys. We wanted to make sure there was no seepage from the dam that could trigger this landslide. We confirmed there is no problem. There is no other issue either - the landslide itself did not cause the dam to fail,” he told Nova TV on Saturday. According to him, the dam wall is stable, the outflow from the full dam is small and so is the inflow. The Ministry has no information about illegal logging in the landslide area.

On Sunday, Caretaker Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Nikolay Naydenov told Bulgarian National Television that this massive landslide is more a matter of collective irresponsibility. Follow-up measures have already been taken, he underscored. According to him, at least one month of studies - geological, hydrogeological, and hydrological - now lies ahead. “After that, we have at least three months of design work, which will be based on these studies; from here on, it is difficult to predict, including the duration of the design phase and the construction and installation work to stabilize the landslide, and whether a road or bridge will even be able to pass through there,” said Naydenov.

"Now we all need to mobilize; there is a landslide registry, and they are known. Some time ago, there was a scandalous public procurement contract worth many millions specifically for landslide stabilization, but it was awarded all at once, and consequently, hundreds of millions in advance payments were distributed. All of that money disappeared; there are probably only five landslides that have been stabilized and reinforced. Now the approach must be landslide by landslide, with a priority of awarding contracts for up to five at a time, but with all efforts focused in this direction,” commented the Minister.