A pilot intelligent road safety system in 11 sections of the national road network will be developed, totaling nearly BGN 2.1 million provided by the Regions in Growth 2014-2020 Operational Program managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. The contract was signed by Deputy Minister and Head of OPRD Managing Authority Denitsa Nikolova and State Agency Road Safety (SARS) Chairperson Malina Kroumova. SARS will implement the project in partnership with the Road Infrastructure Agency.

The project covers nearly 120 km of second- and third-class roads on which modern systems will be deployed to improve road traffic safety. Provision is made for the procurement and installation of 23 electronic signs with changing content, which will transmit weather and traffic updates in real time. They will be equipped with an external temperature and visibility sensor. They will also report the number of vehicles passed and have CCTV cameras.

The project also provides for the construction of 2,200 sq. m. of transverse visual markings, 5,670 sq. m. of transverse noisy markings, more than 12,000 sq. m. of longitudinal noisy markings. Around 8,200 retro-reflective road studs and almost 2,000 retro-reflective delineators will be installed.

The system will cover two sections of a total length of 43 km of the second-class II-81 Kostinbrod—Buchin Prohod—Berkovitsa road, 6 routes of over 55 km of the second class II-29 Varna—General Toshevo—Kardam road, 11 km of the Pamporovo—Stoykite axis, 6 km of III-181 Sofia Ring Road—Kovachevtsi road, and over 3 km of road II-18 Sofia Ring Road–Southern Arc.

The facilities will be located at critical points identified on the basis of additional analyses to prioritize the sites based on data on road accidents, traffic loads, specific climatic conditions, etc.