Struma highway runs parallel to the I-1 (E79) national highway.

The Supreme Expert Environmental Council, the consultant authority to the environment minister, approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Dolna Dikania-Koulata section of the Strouma Highway on January 4.

According to the press office of the Ministry of Environment and Waters, the route will cross the Kresna gorge via a tunnel. In this way the gorge will remain an environmentally protected zone.
The approved section of the Strouma Highway runs from the village of Dolna Dikania to the Koulata border checkpoint and will be 133-135 km long. The road runs parallel to the I-1 (E79) national highway.

This is the first EIA to pass the ministry's approval since NATURA 2000 came into full effect in Bulgaria.