site.btaRoad Signage, Markings, Amenities Found to Be Deficient

The State Agency Road Safety (SARS) has found that the signage, markings and road amenities of Bulgaria's motorways, express roads and first-class national roads fail to meet all requirements for continuous, safe and convenient traffic, the prosecution service said on Friday.

The findings come in a report that the SARS drew up after the Supreme Administrative Prosecution Office assigned the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and the Agency to check the situation in November of last year.

The Agency found a number of faults and non-conformities in motorway infrastructure management and an extremely poor condition of traffic arrangements on first-class roads in terms of serviceability and compliance with applicable regulations.

Urgent action is needed to bring road signs and markings into conformity with the respective ordinances as just a negligible number of them do so.   

On first-class roads, the road-restraint systems (RRS) are largely heterogeneous, and some of their elements are incompatible and are installed without meeting the manufacturer's requirements. Road administrations routinely fail to replace non-conforming and damaged RRS or improperly install such systems.  

The SARS concluded that some road verges and roadside spaces are heavily overgrown, while the gutters are further endangering the roadside space, and these facilities are not secured by RRS. 

The Agency also identified problems with road surfacing.