  In the proximity of the QCD critical point the bulk viscosity of quark-gluon
matter is expected to be proportional to nearly the third power of the critical
correlation length, and become significantly enhanced. This work is the first
attempt to study the phenomenological consequences of enhanced bulk viscosity
near the QCD critical point. For this purpose, we implement the expected
critical behavior of the bulk viscosity within a non-boost-invariant,
longitudinally expanding $1+1$ dimensional causal relativistic hydrodynamical
evolution at non-zero baryon density. We demonstrate that the
critically-enhanced bulk viscosity induces a substantial non-equilibrium
pressure, effectively softening the equation of state, and leads to sizable
effects in the flow velocity and single particle distributions at the
freeze-out. The observable effects that may arise due to the enhanced bulk
viscosity in the vicinity of the QCD critical point can be used as
complimentary information to facilitate searches for the QCD critical point.
