Road Administration officially changes its name and unveils new corporate strategy
The Lithuanian Road Administration officially becomes “Via Lietuva” and presents its updated strategic plan for 2024-2027. Over the next three years, “Via Lietuva” will focus on improving the quality and safety of the country’s road infrastructure, developing a sustainable financing model, and digitalising internal processes.
“The transformation period that started last year in the Road Administration is now moving into the next phase. The change of the company’s name is primarily linked to a renewed strategy. We want “Via Lietuva” to be a modern, transparent and efficient organisation that develops and ensures safe and sustainable infrastructure for all road users,” says Marius Švaikauskas, CEO at “Via Lietuva”.
In order to achieve its key objectives, “Via Lietuva” has identified five strategic areas in its updated three-year strategic action plan: development of a sustainable financing model, safe and comfortable road infrastructure, activities that reduce climate impact, digitalised processes, and innovations that will continue to make the organisation more transparent and efficient.
Over the next three years, the company has planned investments of more than EUR 1.7 billion for the development and renewal of the national road network. This year alone, more than EUR 7 million is to be allocated to national roads from the Road Maintenance and Development Programme (RMDP), European Union support and military mobility funds.
Currently, the main sources of funding for the company’s activities are the funds of the Road Maintenance and Development Programme (RMDP) from the state budget, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and other international financial assistance. The new operational strategy of “Via Lietuva” envisages the application of alternative financing models in the company’s operations and the development of long-term investment, road development and maintenance plans.
Among the most important projects of “Via Lietuva” in the three-year action plan are the reconstruction of the Via Baltica and A1 Vilnius-Kaunas-Klaipėda roads, which are important for military and civil mobility of the European Union and belong to international transport corridors, the reconstruction of one of the busiest arterial roads in the country Vilnius-Utena, the reconstruction of the nearly 20 km long Kaunas-Prienai-Alytus road and the development of the Smiltynė-Nida footpath and cycle path, which coincides with a EuroVelo international cycle route.
One of the key priorities of “Via Lietuva” is to ensure not only convenient, but most importantly, safe transport and communication for all road users. In order to meet the objectives in this area, it is planned to implement complex traffic organisation and improvement measures: reconstruction and construction of footpaths and cycle paths, reconstruction of intersections, installation and modernisation of lighting, installation of pedestrian crossings and other traffic safety engineering measures. For 2024 alone, “Via Lietuva” has planned the development of 360 pedestrian crossings in the national road network. This is the most ambitious plan for the implementation of this traffic safety engineering measure in the last decade of the company’s operations. In total, the company has planned an investment of EUR 10 million this year for the implementation of traffic safety engineering measures. A further EUR 74 million has been earmarked for the installation of environmental measures against wild animals.
In order to improve the quality of the existing network of roads of national importance consistently, “Via Lietuva” will continue to focus on road pavement condition tests, using certified mobile laboratory equipment and independent experts. For the continuous assessment of the quality of national roads, it is planned to use collected road data, the proper use of which will help to assign investment priorities in a targeted manner for road upgrading.
On 2 January 2023, the Lithuanian Road Administration was transformed from a state enterprise into a public limited company. On 5 March this year, the new name of the company—”Via Lietuva”—was officially approved by the Centre of Registers. Following these changes, the legal status of the company remains unchanged, the company remains on the list of companies critical for national security, national roads remain on the list of facilities and assets critical for national security and continue to be owned by the state.
At present, “Via Lietuva” manages slightly more than 21,000 km of national roads.