“From 10 July, repair works on the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge, on the Bulgarian section, will continue for 730 days. These will be carried out every day for 10-12 hours a day, in sections of 400 metres,” announces the INFOTRAFFIC Centre of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police.
Traffic will not be completely stopped but will move alternately, one lane at a time, controlled by traffic lights. In the first stage of the works, traffic restrictions will be introduced in the direction of entering Bulgaria, then in the opposite direction of exiting to Romania.
Drivers are advised to pay extra attention, reduce their speed, and strictly observe the temporary signs set up at the site of the roadworks. The possibility of longer waiting times at border crossings must also be taken into account.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises motorists to use the following border crossings with the Republic of Bulgaria:
- Vidin – Calafat
- Kardam – Negru Vodă
- Silistra – Ostrov Călărași
- Dobromir – Krushari and Kainardzha – Lipnița (these two points operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and only for vehicles up to 3.5 t gross vehicle weight)
- Nikopol – Turnu Măgurele (ferry – www.feribot-eurobac.ro)
- Svishtov – Zimnicea (ferry – www.ferry.bg)
- Oryahovo – Bechet (ferry – www.ferryboat.bg)
- Aydemir (Silistra) – Chiciu (Călărași) (ferry – www.spikaferry.com)
The Vama Veche crossing is also very crowded in summer, while other border points – such as Negru Vodă – are less busy. The ferry crossing options have a limited capacity of heavy vehicles that can cross, points out romania.europalibera.org.
Nonetheless, the Bulgarian authorities, who have carried out two emergency interventions on the bridge this year, have said that the safety of drivers is more important and therefore the repairs cannot be postponed any longer.
At the end of June, the Romanian government approved the decision to establish a new international border crossing point between Romania and Bulgaria, called Giurgiu – Ruse II (in operation until 2005), based on the Romanian-Bulgarian agreement of 2022. This point will only become operational once the infrastructure has been built, and the necessary personnel and utilities are in place so that border control can take place under the norms and standards in force.
Photo credits @ TheFlyingDutchman, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons