Three bridges on the main road network are currently in poor condition and require reconstruction, said the chairman of the board of JSC "Latvijas valsts ceļi" (Latvian State Roads / LVC) Mārtiņš Lazdovskis in an interview with LETA.
He pointed out that this refers to the bridge over the Kekava River on the Riga ring road, as well as two overpasses on the Daugavpils highway (A6). "However, mainly the bridges that require special monitoring are located on local roads with relatively low traffic intensity," noted Lazdovskis.
He explained that there are no bridges on major highways in as poor condition as the bridge over the Salaca in Salacgrīva, which was also owned by the municipality and transferred to state ownership for work to be carried out. According to Lazdovskis, at present, there are no such bridges for which transferring to state ownership would be the only solution.
He added that the bridges in Riga are also in poor condition, and repairs are needed for the railway overpass in Jelgava.
"The Unity Bridge in Daugavpils is not in the best condition, but the municipality has attracted funding for it from European Union funds," said Lazdovskis.
He also explained that such a practice should not become a system where the owner of the facility chooses not to invest in the maintenance of transport infrastructure.
"We cannot allow a situation where the owner deliberately neglects critical infrastructure, expecting that other taxpayers will pay for everything. That would be an unfair practice, and we definitely do not support it," emphasized the head of LVC.
At the same time, he noted that bridges continue to pose a challenge, but the proportion of bridges in poor condition is relatively small, at about 5%.
"Bridges are structures that require special monitoring, and every five years all bridges undergo inspection. It should be remembered that if any barrier structure has chipped off from a bridge and it visually appears unsafe, this does not necessarily mean that its load-bearing capacity has decreased," added Lazdovskis. He cited the Cable Bridge in Riga as an example.
LETA has already reported that today at 11:00 a.m. in Salacgrīva, a new bridge over the Salaca River on the Tallinn highway (A1), built on the site of the old bridge, will be ceremonially opened.
Last spring, a contract was signed with the consortium "NB&Tilts" for the construction of a new bridge over the Salaca River in Salacgrīva at kilometer 91.1 of the Tallinn highway. The proposal from "NB&Tilts" had the lowest price — 14,971,553 euros excluding value-added tax. The consortium consists of the companies SIA "Nordes būve" and SIA "Tilts". During the construction work, traffic across the river was organized via a temporary crossing.
During the work, the old bridge was completely demolished, and a new four-span bridge with reinforced concrete beams, new supports, and steel beams was built in its place. Pedestrian paths have been equipped on both sides under the bridge. On the Ainaži side, the under-bridge path connects with the existing pedestrian structure along the Salaca River, while on the Riga side, the path is made locally, and a new staircase will also be built at its end. Pedestrian infrastructure is also equipped on the bridge itself.
The bridge project was commissioned and approved by the Salacgrīva municipality, and the project author is SIA "Projekts 3", with construction supervision carried out by JSC "Ceļuprojekts."
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