The Maritsa motorway (, ), designated A4, is a
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, part of the
Pan-European Corridor IV
The Corridor IV is one of the Pan-European transport corridors. It runs between Dresden/Nuremberg in Germany and Thessaloniki (Greece) / Constanța (Romania) / Istanbul (Turkey). The corridor follows the route: Dresden / Nuremberg – Prag ...
, between the
Trakia motorway (A1), at the town of
Chirpan
Chirpan ( bg, Чирпан, ) is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province of south-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of 2021, the town had a population of 13,391 down fro ...
, and
Kapitan Andreevo
Kapitan Andreevo ( bg, Капитан Андреево ) is a village near the Bulgaria—Turkey—Greece tripoint in Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province, southern Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 948 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Shidero ...
, at the
Turkish border.
The planned completion of the last remaining stretch of the motorway was in 2013, but a delay occurred and the complete motorway enterеd service in October 2015.
It is named after the
Maritsa River
Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,[Harmanli
Harmanli ( bg, Харманли , tr, Harmanlı) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the eponymous Harmanli Municipality.
Near the site of Hamanli in Late Antiquity, during the early 4th- ...]
and
Lyubimets
Lyubimets ( bg, Любимец ) is a small town in Haskovo Province, southern-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Lyubimets Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 7,670 inhabitants. officially opened to traffic. The new interchange at Kapitan Petvo Voyvoda neighbourhood of
Svilengrad, providing direct connection with the border crossing to Greece, also opened in October 2010. During construction, 6000-year-old Neolithic remains were found near
Haskovo
Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...
. The bypass of Kapitan Andreevo village in the border area entered service in August 2014. The construction of Haskovo-Harmanli section began in July 2011 and was completed on 28 May 2015. A long second carriageway near Svilengrad was inaugurated on 7 June 2015, while the other carriageway had been built during the 1980s. The last remaining section, between Chirpan and Haskovo, entered service on 29 October 2015.
[
The construction of the Chirpan-Haskovo and the Haskovo-Harmanli sections of the motorway were co-funded by EU funds allocated for Bulgaria, while a small section at the Turkish border was co-funded with a loan from the IBRD.]Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
and the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. The completion of the Maritsa motorway attempts to reduce this congestion.
Exits
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritsa Motorway
Motorways in Bulgaria