“Via Lietuva”: reconstruction works on the Via Baltica near the Polish border will start soon
Last week “Via Lietuva” signed a contract for the reconstruction of the last section of the Via Baltica from Marijampolė to the Polish border. Intensive modernisation works on this section of the road are expected to start in early June and to be completed in the second half of next year. In terms of the amount of new infrastructure to be built and the speed of construction, this road modernisation project is the largest road construction project in the country throughout Lithuania’s independence.
The reconstruction of the Via Baltica, one of the country’s most important traffic arteries, from Marijampolė to the Lithuanian-Polish border, with a total distance of about 40 km, is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. The project consists of the rehabilitation of four different sections of the road, with two sections completed and opened to traffic last year, and intensive work currently underway on the longest 16 km section from the city of Marijampolė to the village of Skaidiškės. The last section of the road, where work is about to start, is 12 km long.
“This is the last step towards the finishing line of this historic project. This reconstruction phase will complete the long-awaited rehabilitation of our strategic road connection to the West and will allow us to reach Warsaw in the second half of next year by a 40-kilometre stretch of top-class motorway, which was really necessary. Once this road construction project of unprecedented scope is completed, all attention will be focused on the reconstruction of the Via Baltica towards Latvia and on the alternative military mobility connection from Lazdijai to Alytus and Vilnius,” said Marius Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications.
The last section of the Via Baltica that is being reconstructed, from Marijampolė to the Lithuanian-Polish border, involves the construction of three tunnel underpasses, three tunnel passages for animals, two viaducts, and an 82-metre-long green bridge for animal migration, ten roundabouts, about 15 km of connecting and link roads, 5 km of acoustic wall, renovation, enlargement and modernisation of the car park at the exit from Lithuania for cars and freight transport.
“We are nearing the end of a project of great importance for Lithuania. The planning phase is over, but there is still the equally important task of ensuring that works on the remaining and longest two sections are carried out and completed on time and to the highest quality standards. The implementation of this project, which is of great importance for the country, will become not only a historic and the largest road infrastructure project in the history of independent Lithuania, but also an important investment in the country’s economic growth and the development of the military mobility connections,” says Marius Švaikauskas, CEO at “Via Lietuva”.
The works on the fourth section at the Lithuanian-Polish border will be carried out by AB “Kauno tiltai”, the winner of the public tender announced by “Via Lietuva”, and the value of the works is EUR 154.7 million excluding VAT.
“We always approach every project entrusted to “Kauno tiltai” responsibly, understanding the significance of the work we perform for society. Winning the tender for the reconstruction of this section is both gratifying and, of course, binding. We have a hard-working attitude, and our many years of experience in implementing similar projects give us confidence. Moreover, we will not be new to the Via Baltica as at the end of last year we successfully completed the reconstruction of the third section, and we are already familiar with the specifics of the terrain and the organisation of work on a rather tight schedule. It is symbolic that, as a Polish capital company, we have won the opportunity to complete the section of the Via Baltica up to the state border with Poland,” says Aldas Rusevičius, CEO at AB “Kauno tiltai”.
At the end of last year, two of the four sections of the Via Baltica from Marijampolė to the Polish border were opened to traffic, totalling 12.5 km in length. These sections have been reconstructed into a modern four-lane motorway, and in less than a year, an impressive infrastructure has been installed on these sections: five roundabouts, three viaducts, four bridges, more than 4.5 km of acoustic walls, lighting, intelligent transportation system equipment and other traffic management measures.
The project will modernise the 40 km section of the Via Baltica from Marijampolė to the border and will include the construction of two green bridges for animals (the first of their kind in Lithuania), ten tunnel underpasses, ten viaducts, seven bridges, 25 crossings, 18.9 kilometres of acoustic wall, two car parks and recreation areas (the most modern in Lithuania so far) and as many as 90.5 kilometres of connecting roads.
The Via Baltica is a trans-European network road from Warsaw to Tallinn, with a total length of 970 km, including 269 km in Lithuania. This motorway is of particular importance for the Polish and Baltic economies, the mobility of the population, and military mobility for the security of Lithuania and its allies.
“Via Lietuva” manages more than 21,000 km of national roads, more than 1,500 bridges, viaducts, and tunnels and more than 5,000 km of footpaths and cycle paths. The company aims to ensure that the country’s road infrastructure is continuously developed, renewed and modernised, creating added value for the country and its residents, and becoming synonymous with positive change for visitors.