Bridge over Salaca in Salacgriva opened to traffic

RIGA - The bridge over the Salaca River in Salacgriva on the Tallinn Highway (A1) has been opened to traffic in both lanes since Wednesday, Latvijas Valsts Celi (LVC) state road manager informed LETA.

The cost of the new bridge construction, according to the contract concluded last spring with the general partnership NB&Tilts, was EUR 14,971,553 excluding value added tax. The partnership is made up of Nordes Buve and Tilts. The construction of the new bridge is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) with EUR 7,548,242, and the rest comes from public funding.

At the opening ceremony on Wednesday, Transport Minister Atis Svinka (Progressives) said that the bridge is important not only for the local community, but also for the whole Baltic region, as demonstrated by the fact that half of the funding needed for the construction of the bridge comes from the Military Mobility Fund.

Until 2024, the bridge was owned by the municipality of Salacgriva, and later by the municipality of Limbazi. The bridge was in a technically poor condition and in order to ensure the construction of a new bridge, the old bridge was taken over by the state in 2024.

Work in Salacgriva started in June 2024 with the construction of a temporary bridge. Traffic on the temporary bridge was switched at the end of August last year and the dismantling of the old bridge and construction of the new piers started.

The construction of the new bridge had to comply with strict environmental requirements, and the technologies were coordinated with the State Environmental Service and the BIOR Institute.

The old bridge over Salaca in Salacgrīva was built in 1960 and was managed by the municipality until 2024.