A Foreigners and Friends article |

The newly renovated Tsarigradsko Chaussee does not look newly renovated.

The Bulgarian watchdog “Spaci Sofia” (“Save Sofia”), an NGO which watches the infrastructure in the capital, sharply criticized the municipality yet again, for spending taxpayer’s money for bad road work.

In this case, the organization provided photos of cracks and holes in Boulevard Tsarigradsko Chaussee, one of the most important traffic routes in Sofia. “Spaci Sofia” reminded inhabitants and the municipality that this particular boulevard had been renovated in the past three years and that 20 Million Leva were spent, the equivalent of approximately 10 million Euro. Still, the stretch between kilometer 4 and kilometer 7 had dozens of cracks, potholes and rotten shafts, the NGO said in a statement.

It is not the first time “Spaci Sofia” blasts the municipality. In the past months, they have complained about decaying tram tracks, which are destroying new trams worth millions, about parts of the infrastructure in the quarter of Mladost which looked like the Third World, as well as about countless examples of inadequate street repairs.

In their latest statement, the “Spaci Sofia” staff asked Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova to retire. “We have seen enough repairs and renovations. We have heard enough promises regarding their quality. Isn’t it time to retire?”, it said. “You are just wasting taxpayer’s money.”

Tsarigradsko Chausee is a city highway, which connects the center of Sofia with several large boroughs, such as Mladost and Druzhba, as well as with Sofia Airport and the Trakia Motorway to the Black Sea coast.

Tsarigradsko Chaussee was just refurbished for millions. Still, cracks and holes are appearing.