Bulgaria Redirects All Traffic to Greece through Secondary Route
Bulgaria's Interior Ministry has urged all drivers to use the Ilinden-Exochi crossing when traveling to and from Greece after the rising Struma River damaged the E-79, the main road connecting the two countries.
The torrential rains in Southwest Bulgaria over the weekend led the Struma River to rise by five meters in the Kresna Gorge, some 120 km south of Sofia, causing a landslide that undermined the road, which collapsed into the river; a truck with its driver bringing gravel for the repairs has vanished into the raging waters.
The rescue units have still been unable to start the search for the driver since the depth of the river is 8-10 meters, and it is flowing much faster than usual.
According to Valeri Smilenov, Governor of the southwestern District of Blagoevgrad, the repair works will require bringing in 30 000 cubic meters of land mass to reinforce the bank of the river and the road, which means that the road connecting Sofia with Kulata-Promachonas on the Greek border and the Greek port of Thessaloniki will remain closed for 10 or even 12 days.