The current international road Sofia - Athens, passes THROUGH the Kresna Gorge and the town of Kresna. The 9-meter-wide road is already responsible for the deaths of hundreds of animals during their daily migration to the Struma River. The future motorway is planned to be 25 - 29 meters wide and pass through nearly the same route. The motorway THROUGH the gorge will turn into an insurmountable ecological barrier for most of the small mammals, causing a sharp increase in their death rates. This will result in the extinction of many of these species.

The construction of the motorway through the ravine will destroy the slopes and the riverbanks of the Struma River. The plants are rarely expected to rehabilitate due to the crumbly and unstable nature of the rock in the gorge.

The Struma Motorway will lead to air contamination, noise and safety risks for the population of Kresna. Precious agricultural lands and pastures will disappear, as well as the Melo Sand Hill (one of the characteristic landmarks of the town).

In order to reach their fields the inhabitants of Kresna will have to go ACROSS the motorway, as there is NO planned secondary road. Under these circumstances they will lose the possibility of using slow-moving means of transport such as tractors and horse drawn carts which are vital to their livelihoods.