The Daugava embankment, completed last winter after a major reconstruction along Mukusalas Street, by the way, is by no means the child of Mayor Kleinbergs – the construction was initiated at the level of the building permit on November 2, 2018, i.e., during the height of Mayor Ushakov's reign. In any case, the shortcomings revealed after the snow melted have become politically sensitive!
At the request of the Department of Environment and Mobility of the Riga City Council, SIA Geo Consultants conducted an inspection of the embankment and prepared reports. The defects were distributed among the responsible parties – the client (the Department), construction supervision, and the Department of City Development.
The overall opinion conveyed to the members of the RD Committee on Communication and Transport was: "Currently, there is no need to impose restrictions on the construction or any part of it, nor are there grounds to limit the use of the promenade."
The Department of Environment and Mobility will continue to conduct visual monitoring; it will install a slope sensor (for the embankment railings); based on the results, additional actions may be taken.
Meanwhile, the documents for the Committee indicate that the construction company SIA Tilts, which built the promenade, may face "sanctions" on two counts – "failure to control subcontractors" and "failure to comply with the traffic organization scheme." In turn, SIA Geo Consultants has already identified 5 discrepancies.
In any case, when accepting the facility for operation on December 22, 2025, the current city leadership "acted in accordance with Article 9 of the Construction Law." The following were checked: mechanical strength and stability; fire safety; environmental protection and hygiene, including the absence of harm; safety of use and accessibility of the environment; acoustics (noise protection); energy efficiency; long-term use of natural resources.
Of course, not everything was 100 percent ready – but "most of the discrepancies have been resolved and the remaining work has been indicated." So, it is likely that the defects noted by the deputies and bloggers are essentially this remainder. In any case, with six months to go before the elections, it is unlikely that even objectively minor shortcomings will not trigger a political scandal. With a commercial tint, by the way – calls have already been made in the public sphere to permanently exclude the contractor from municipal orders. But this is unlikely.
