After 6 months of analyzes and inspections, the Ministry of Environment allowed the completion of the "Struma" highway along the route through the Kresna Gorge. Earlier, the courts also rejected requests of green organisations for a new environmental assessment of the project. 

The ministry's decision ends a more than 20-year-long approval process that had delayed the completion of the last 14 km of the highway. The highway leads to Thessaloniki and is part of the route of Pan-European Corridor IV, connecting Central Europe with Greece and the Mediterranean ports. The lack of highway near Kresna creates long traffic jams and leads to frequent road accidents. If construction starts in 2025, completion is expected in 2028.