Officials Cannot Decide Which Bridge to Build Across the Daugava – One Combined or Two Separate 0 1911

As part of the third competition of the Military Mobility Fund, three projects submitted by Latvia have been approved. Among them is the nearly completed bridge over the Salaca River and the reconstruction of the airport platform, for which a construction contract has already been signed.

However, there are concerns about whether it will be possible to construct the supports for the planned two-level road and rail bridge across the Daugava as part of the Rail Baltica project.

According to LETA, the largest funding of 51 million euros is allocated for the construction of supports for this two-level bridge. Currently, there are doubts about whether it will be possible to afford to build the bridge in its originally designed form — it may be necessary to either return these funds or find ways and permission to use them for the construction of a different type of bridge.

According to the information available to the broadcast, recent calculations have shown that a combined road and rail bridge in two levels will cost almost 800 million euros, and such an amount is impossible to find.

Representatives of RB Rail, the joint venture of the Baltic States, noted that in the spring, RB Rail proposed to scale down the project by abandoning the road part of the bridge, but the Latvijas Valsts ceļi (LVC) enterprise opposed this, stating that there would no longer be physical space for the road in the area where the Riga bypass road was previously planned.

"LVC needs a crossing that ensures the movement of road transport. However, we were not involved in the initial study and decision-making regarding the configuration of the crossing — how many levels there will be and how they will be arranged," explained LVC representative Anna Kononova.

The decision to build this particular bridge was made in 2021. At that time, it was claimed that two separate bridges would cost 40 million euros more than one two-level bridge, which was then estimated to cost 200 million euros (at 2020 prices).

It was emphasized that this would be one of the most complex structures not only in the Baltic States but also in all of Europe — there are only three similar structures.

Currently, the project is nearly completed, with funding allocated from the Military Mobility Fund — together with state co-financing, this amounts to 104 million euros. With this funding, it is planned to build eight supports in the Daugava by 2027.

The head of the company "Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas" (EDzL), responsible for the implementation of Rail Baltica in Latvia, Maris Dzelme, explained in an interview that the priority remains to preserve the bridge as a two-level structure — with the rail bridge below and the road bridge above. However, other options are also being considered, such as two parallel bridges, but no final decisions have been made yet.

LETA reports that an alternative option, which is almost half the cost, involves the construction of two separate bridges — one for road and one for rail — next to each other, with a total cost of about 0.5 billion euros. However, the funds from the Military Mobility Fund (50 million euros) are specifically allocated for the eight major supports needed for the two-level structure.

Transport Minister Aitis Švinka emphasized that the road connection across the Daugava must be built in the first phase of Rail Baltica, and abandoning it is not considered a cost-saving measure.

"I made it clear — there must be a double bridge. This is the plan and the use of the Military Mobility Fund's resources. Yes, we will have to talk to the commission about extending the deadlines, but that is possible. The main thing is not to build 'palaces of dreams,' but to choose standardized, economical solutions," noted the minister.

Decisions on reducing the cost of the project — both the bridge and the main route — are currently being sought in collaboration with construction contractors.

For reference: According to RB Rail, the first phase of Rail Baltica in the Baltic States may cost 14.3 billion euros, of which 5.5 billion is in Latvia. The total cost of the project, according to updated analysis, may reach 23.8 billion euros (previously estimated at 5.8 billion in 2017).

The Rail Baltica project involves the construction of a new 870-kilometer railway line of European standard (1435 mm) from Tallinn to the borders of Lithuania and Poland, to connect the Baltic States with the rest of Europe. The maximum speed of trains will be 240 km/h.