Some 45 per cent of bridges which are less than 20 metres in length should be repaired over the short and medium term, and some bridges need urgent repairs, Lazar Lazarov, Director of the Central Laboratory for Roads and Bridges with the Road Infrastructure National Agency (RINA) said.

Over 80 per cent of bridges were built after World War II. According to 1993 Technical Supervision and Maintenance Guidelines of RINA, bridges are subject to general reviews every five years after launch into operation. Between 2003 and 2006,

in the framework of a national campaign, all bridges were examined and assessed. According to Lazarov, however, the examination did not cover 1,800 bridges from the local roads network, which are not managed by RINA but by municipalities.

Lazarov recalled that a permanent commission for bridges along national roads was set up in the middle of July. By the end of August, the commission is to prepare a comprehensive analysis on the condition of bridges in the country and to propose to the leadership measures to improve their operational condition.

Safety requirements for road tunnels have been introduced by Directive 2004/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 29, 2004, Lazarov recalled. A compliance check has found that there are certain discrepancies with the Directive, and they are to be removed by 2014.

Lazarov also said that new agreements on current and winter-time maintenance of national roads will be valid for four years. The RINA Supervisory Board is in a process of establishing of type documentation for participation in an open procedure for assigning a public procurement contract, Lazarov said.

Currently, the approved budget of the Operation and Maintenance of the National Road Network Directorate is some 130 million leva. A proposal has been made to increase the directorate's budget to some 160 million leva. Lazarov could not say whether the increase would happen in practice.

Source: BTA