The Hemus motorway (, ) or Haemus motorway, designated A2, is a partially built motorway in Bulgaria, under construction since 1974. Its planned length is 418 km, of which 206 km are in operation . The motorway in operation is divided into two sections — the first one links the capital Sofia with the town of Ugarchin near Dermantsi, crossing Stara planina (Balkan Mountains), and the second segment connects Varna and Buhovtsi near Targovishte. According to the plans, Hemus motorway would connect Sofia with the third-largest city of Varna, at the Black Sea coast, duplicating European route E70 (Varna–Shumen), European route E772 (Shumen–Yablanitsa) and European route E83 (Yablanitsa–Sofia).
History October 4, 1974 The construction of the motorway officially began. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by the First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), Todor Zhivkov.
1999 The Pravets–Yablanitsa section of the Hemus motorway was officially opened on 5 December 1999. Due to the mountainous terrain through the Balkans, the 5.47 km section together with another 16 km reconstructed, features two viaducts and one tunnel (Praveshki hanove), while the whole Sofia–Yablanitsa section has three more tunnels. The construction of the Pravets–Yablanitsa section began in 1984 but ceased in the late 1980s due to lack of funds to eventually be finished in 1998–1999.
2005 The 12.8 km section connecting Shumen with Kaspichan to the east was opened on 30 December 2005 and cost 77.6 million leva.
2013 In July 2013 a segment of the motorway at Shumen opened. In August 2013 a 8.46 km segment, connecting the Sofia Ring Road and the Yana junction, opened to traffic.
2015 In August 2015, a 4.9 km segment, including the Belokopitovo interchange (with I-2 road), was inaugurated.
2019 In October 2019, а 9.3 km segment (lot 0), connecting Yablanitsa with the I-4 road near the Boaza ravine of Vit, was inaugurated.
2022 In October 2022, а 16.3 km segment (lot 10), connecting Belokopitovo with the village of Buhovtsi near Targovishte, was inaugurated.
2025 In October 2025, а 10 km segment of lot 1, connecting Boaza with the village of Dermantsi near Lukovit, was inaugurated. Two months later, on December 13th, the remaining 5 kilometers of lot 1, stretching from Dermantsi to a temporary exit on the III-307 road near Ugarchin, were opened.
Recent Developments In January 2013 National Company "Strategic Infrastructure Projects" (NCSIP), a state-run company, tendered feasibility study for the remaining sections of Hemus motorway (Yablanitsa-Panayot Volovo). In 2014 NCSIP signed contracts for drawing conceptual designs for all 8 lots of the motorway. In January 2015, a tender for design and build of 2 lots, between Yablanitsa and the Pleven/Lovech road, has been announced by NCSIP. In 2016 NCSIP was closed, with all activities being transferred to the Roads Agency. The tender for construction of the Yablanitsa - Pleven/Lovech road was cancelled due to lack of secured financing and later in 2016 a new tender for a shorter 9 km stretch between Yablanitsa and Boaza has been announced.
Exits
Exit km Destinations Lanes Notes 0 Sofia Ring RoadIn service 1.4 Dolni Bogrov In service 8.4 YanaIn service 21.7 PotopIn service 30.2 VitinyaIn service 33 Vitinya (1195 m)In service 35.2 Vitiska rekaIn service 39.6 Topli Dol (883 m)In service 42 Echemishka (775 m)In service 47 Botevgrad In service 52.7 PravetsIn service 54.7 Praveshki Hanove (871 m)In service 60.4 Osikovska LakavitsaIn service 67.8 DzhurovoIn service 74.6 YablanitsaIn service 78.5 PrelogIn service 87.8 Boaza (only towards Sofia)In service 88.5 Boaza In service 98.1 DermantsiIn service 102.8 Ugarchin (temporary exit)In service 115.6 UgarchinUnder construction 121.8 KalenikUnder construction 139.3 Pleven, LovechUnder construction 153.1 DrenovUnder construction 167.6 LetnitsaUnder construction 171.5 KrushunaUnder construction 190 ButovoUnder construction 195.3 Pavlikeni Tender 204.8 Daskot Tender 222.7 Polikraishte, Veliko Tarnovo Tender 265.6 Kovachevsko kale Planned 299 LoznitsaUnder construction 310.9 Buhovtsi In service 327.2 Belokopitovo In service 338 Shumen-eastIn service 348.6 Kaspichan, Novi PazarIn service 357 NevshaIn service 361.8 Mlada GvardiyaIn service 372 Provadia-north (road III-208)In service 380.3 Provadia-east, GabarnitsaIn service 387.3 DevnyaIn service 392.5 PovelyanovoIn service 398 SlanchevoIn service 408 Varna AirportIn service 418 Varna-westIn service
Miscellaneous
Bebresh Viaduct, regarded as the highest motorway bridge in the Balkans with a clearance of 120 m, is part of the Hemus motorway. The motorway is named after the Haemus Mons, an ancient name of the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina).
Gallery
References
External links Hemus FS Summary .pdf at NCSIP (in Bulgarian)