Latvians are building 1000 kilometers of four-lane highways, Estonia is clearly falling behind for now
Latvians are building 1000 kilometers of four-lane highways, Estonia is clearly falling behind for now
According to Tarmo Trei, head of the Estonian Infrastructure Construction Association, the Latvian government confirmed a plan to build 1055 kilometers of four-lane highways by 2040. According to Tarmo Trei, with current funding levels, Estonia has no hope of even completing its three main roads by that time, not to mention the increasingly deteriorating local roads, whose neglect leads to continued marginalization of rural areas.
According to Tarmo Trei, Latvia plans to invest 5.2 billion euros in roads, and according to the plan, it should be possible to reach Riga in two hours from all the country's larger cities. "The existing roads will be converted into highways where you can drive up to 130 kilometers per hour," said Trei.
Meanwhile, the Estonian state is reducing road construction funding significantly in the coming years, and at the current rate there is no hope that we will complete our three main roads in the next 20 years. "So far, Estonia has managed to build only 176 kilometers of four-lane main roads. On the three main roads – Tallinn-Pärnu, Tallinn-Tartu and Tallinn-Narva road sections, there are two-lane road sections that need to be built as four-lane, a total of 340 kilometers remaining," added Trei.
"A country is not advanced by four-lane main roads alone, but by the local road network, which requires even more modernization than the national level. Infrastructure is the lifeblood of a country, and without it life in rural areas simply dies out. To solve the situation, we need a long-term strategic decision that transcends government and electoral boundaries. For the sake of the country's future, for example, in the US, Democrats and Republicans recently concluded such an agreement and are investing over 600 billion in their infrastructure," Trei gave an example.
According to the head of the Infrastructure Construction Association, Estonia currently has thousands of kilometers of roads that do not meet public expectations and official standards, not to mention missing cycling paths. "And in rural areas, people have been waiting for decades simply for hard-surfaced, dust-free roads," added Trei.
The Estonian State plans to cut the funding of roads under its management for 2022–2025 compared to the current Road Maintenance Plan by 113 million euros. According to the Road Technology Center's analysis, the road network development debt will reach 2.159 billion euros by 2030, and the road repair debt is already over 700 million euros. "The funding level planned today does not allow even maintaining existing roads, and the repair debt increases every day, not to mention development. In essence, this means a standstill. This is concerning and negatively affects the safety and well-being of Estonian people and the competitiveness of enterprises and the country," said Trei.
"Due to poor infrastructure, private investments are not being made, and it is not so much Tallinn and 3-4 major centers that suffer the most, but all the rest of Estonia. If we do not act now, Estonia will simply continue to marginalize further, as it has been happening for the past 30 years," added Trei.
According to the Latvian government's decision, preparations will be made by 2030 and 194.3 kilometers of highways will be completed, in 2030–2035 224 kilometers will be built, and from then on by 2040, 637.5 kilometers of highways will be constructed.
