The project was implemented jointly by the municipalities of Toundzha and Plovdiv and the City of Golden Colorado, with FLGR assistance. For the Municipality of Tundzha, the improvement of the condition of the municipal roads (total length 115 km) and streets is a priority. The roads are depreciated and not in a very good condition. Therefore, the Municipality decided to expand the scope of the infrastructure management model used by the municipalities of Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv for their streets and sidewalks. For this purpose, Tundzha joined the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program and had the opportunity to exchange experience and work jointly with specialists from Plovdiv and Golden in the development of the plan .

Project purpose : The total length of the municipal roads is 115 kilometers. It should be noted that the project didn’t cover the road structures. It involved only the inventorying and mapping of pavement, shoulder and ditch repair and maintenance. The structures could be inventoried and added to the analysis at a later stage. The municipal roads provide the transport connections and renovating them is a priority for the years to come. The Municipality of Tundzha is maintaining 24 municipal roads.

Structure of project activities

The first stage of the work entails the collection of inputs :

· Maps and a digital model of the municipality , including the municipal roads

· Price quotes from leading road maintenance companies in the Yambol area

· Financial information about the expenditures incurred by the municipal budget for municipal road maintenance and reconstruction in the past 5 years (2000 – 2004) .

· The team then conducted pavement inventory and evaluation of the municipal roads, which included :

· The Municipality measured the mileage and designated the municipal roads by concrete blocks, as required by the current legislation. A total of 114 concrete blocks were placed. Funding was provided by the Municipality of Tudzha and FLGR .

· Every road was divided in one - kilometer sections and each section was given an ID number . Each section was evaluated by the same indicators that were used for the streets. The sections were evaluated individually; the length of the sections was defined by the kilometer-stones .

The inventory results were used to formulate a strategy for the maintenance of the municipal roads for 2006 – 2013. The strategy entails :

1. Priority focus on milling and repaving in the first five years (2006 – 2010)

2. In the fourth year (2009), the Municipality will begin to invest in reconstruction, which should be completed over a period of five years (i.e., by 2013)

3. Funds will be invested in current repair of pavement and shoulders over the whole period (2006 – 2013) .

The annual calculations are reflected in the financial plan.

An action plan has been developed for the implementation of the financial pla n.

Over the next several years the financial plan will be updated. The updates will be based on annual assessments of the sections, with inflation adjustments for the individual repair works .