Montana – Botevgrad Expressway (I-1 / E79)

Road I-1 (E79) from km 102+060 to km 114+512.20. The Bulgarian Wikipedia table lists the works at 46,572,618 leva including VAT, with indexation, as at 15 April 2025; it is not an award value and is not recorded as a cost here.

Road I-1 from km 111+305 to km 140+008. A procedure for a preliminary design with geological surveys was opened on 22 December 2023 and the design contract was signed with Трансгео ЕООД on 1 August 2024. As of 1 September 2024 no construction contractor procedure had started. The existing I-1 carries traffic on this stretch.

Doubling of the existing Vratsa bypass to the Г20 cross-section, about 15 km. The design contract was signed on 18 February 2025 with Обединение „ИКюИнфра“. As of 1 September 2024 no procedure to choose a contractor for the doubling had started.

To be rehabilitated within the existing alignment, which already has the required cross-section. As of 1 September 2024 no contractor procedure had started. A temporary connection between Mezdra and Vratsa was reported in July 2025.

Road I-1 (E79) from km 161+367 to km 174+800, including the Lyutidol bypass, for which the API page lists two tunnels of 490 m and 340 m; whether they were built is not confirmed. Contract duration converted from days: 1096 days (180 design, 916 construction). News.bg reported on 2 July 2025 that the lot would be officially put into operation the next day; the exact day is not confirmed by a second source, so only the month is recorded. A further contract signed on 10 October 2024 covers landslide stabilisation on the lot, and OpenStreetMap still maps part of the Lyutidol bypass as under construction. The API page gave 266,975,906.88 leva including VAT; the Bulgarian Wikipedia table lists 475,920,000 leva, which is not recorded.

Western part of Lot 1 (km 174+800 to km 194+122, 19.322 km), contract РД-33-12 of 18 October 2019 for 159,599,935.27 leva including VAT, 1096 days (180 design, 916 construction). The contract value covers the whole lot and is not split here; the Bulgarian Wikipedia table lists 218,876,687 leva with indexation. Length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. A 4 km stretch between km 180 and km 184, with the Трудовец overpass, had an Act 15 signed in January 2026 and awaited a use permit. Balkanec.bg reports Lot 1 as 98.5% built, excluding landslide stabilisation, and the whole road finished by mid-2027 (a press forecast).

7.5 km of new road between Novachene and Skravena, with the Novachene interchange, three bridges over the Bebresh, Rudarka and Kalnitsa rivers and two overpasses, opened on 13 April 2023. Balkanec.bg gives 7.26 km from Novachene to Skravena. Part of Lot 1 under contract РД-33-12; no construction start date is published.

Works from km 192+140 to km 194+122, including the Botevgrad interchange and a new road section of about 1 km. News.bg reported on 21 July 2026, citing the roads agency, that the interchange was built and Act 15 was signed, with the use permit still to be issued. BTA reported on 5 October 2026 that the minister expected the use permit within the day; no source read states that it was issued or that traffic is running, so the lot is kept as under construction. Landslide works on six newly registered landslides continue on Lot 1. Part of Lot 1 under contract РД-33-12.