The expanded Lomsko Shose Blvd in Sofia was opened for traffic Monday, with vehicles now freely travelling between Han Kubrat Str and Beli Dunav Str.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov inaugurated the reconstructed section of the boulevard, accompanied by Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

The stretch between Beli Dunav Str and Han Kubrat Str now boasts a two-way traffic lane, a bicycle lane and parking spaces.

Apart from that, the sidewalk pavement is accessible to strollers and wheelchairs.

The reconstruction has used up BGN 3.6 M under the project for building a subway line between the Nadezhda Overbridge and the Obelya station.

"As of April 2012, 400 000 people will be able to travel underground. We are now building a 31-km subway line. The financing has been secured despite the time of crisis", Borisov stressed.

In his words, the Nadezhda residential district will count as downtown Sofia because locals will take 10 minutes to get to the city center.

Yordanka Fandakova reminded that, apart from the new pavement, a new sewerage and water supply network had also been built.

Other improvements include a fully replaced street lighting, over 280 newly planted trees and a fountain.

The next 700-meter stretch of the Lomsko Shose Blvd between Han Kubrat Str and the Nadezhda Overbridge will be opened for traffic in the fall.

Prime Minister Borisov also told journalists that the boulevard and the residential district were a typical illustration of the time he became Mayor of Sofia.

In his words, it used to appear then that the pavement consists of potholes connected by patches of asphalt.

Borisov reminded that many owners of shops located on the Lomsko Shose Blvd, who had initially opposed the construction works, now agreed that the traffic lanes looked much better.

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