The CityLinks Public Infrastructure Management Expansion program in Bulgaria began with the U.S. City of Golden, Colorado, and the Bulgarian City of Veliko Turnovo.  During an earlier phase of the partnership, Golden developed a model for public infrastructure management that Veliko Turnovo adopted, and as a result, the city completed a map of all roads and sidewalks, ranked them in accordance with their condition, and projected the repair costs for the whole area.  Veliko Turnovo was then able to develop a rational financial management plan that gives reliable information as to how much funding is required for the upkeep of the infrastructure and what is necessary to fully repair all these roads and sidewalks. This method allowed Veliko Turnovo to make informed decisions about public infrastructure repair works, to apply for available funds in a swift manner from different resources, and to allocate the necessary funds within the municipal budget. The model has since been successfully replicated in all six districts of Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria.

The potential cost savings of this methodology to Bulgarian cities is millions of dollars. Critical to the approach is the understanding that one dollar spent on pavement management can avoid five dollars spent on subsequent road reconstruction. Thus, it drives Bulgarian decisionmakers to understand that the first priority for capital dollars is prevention, which will keep roads from deteriorating. During the next three years the program, municipal infrastructure management experts (city engineers) from Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv will help to roll out public infrastructure model in at least 10 new municipalities with the goals of developing a pool of trained infrastructure management specialists, developing financial plans for infrastructure management, and adopting cost effective infrastructure management and maintenance practices.

A large emphasis of this expansion program will be placed on nurturing and growing Bulgarian expertise. True to the program's goals, a training of trainers for the Plovdiv and Veliko Turnovo city engineers will be launched to develop their training skills and to create a content training for experienced trainers and future consultants. The workshop/training and the follow-on technical assistance will be provided jointly with the new trainers and consultants. The program will offer internship opportunities in Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv for the new city engineers from the replicant cities and will rely on the pool of newly trained Bulgarian experts to carry the program forth after USAID involvement. 

The first round of cities (Svishov, Pavlikeni, Petrich, Tundja, and Gabrovo) attended a week-long training on public infrastructure management delivered by Dan Hartman, Director of Public Works in Golden Colorado.  The five cities are being mentored by Veliko Turnovo and Plovdiv, which are continuing their own infrastructure programs in bridge maintenance.