Three bridges on main road network are currently in poor condition - Latvijas Valsts Celi

RIGA - There are three bridges in the main road network in poor condition that need to be reconstructed, Martins Lazdovskis, Chairman of the Board of state-owned road maintenance company Latvijas Valsts Celi (LVC), told LETA in an interview.

He pointed out that these are the bridge over Kekavina River on the Riga bypass, as well as two overpasses on the Daugavpils Highway (A6). "However, the bridges that require special attention are mainly on local roads with relatively low traffic volumes," Lazdovskis said.

He explained that the bridge over the Salaca River in Salacgriva was in a considerably worse condition than others on main roads, as it was a municipal bridge that the state took over to repair. According to Lazdovskis, there are currently no bridges where the only option would be to take them over into state ownership.

He added that bridges in Riga are not in a very good condition, and the railway overpass in Jelgava should be repaired. "The Vienibas Bridge in Daugavpils is not in the best condition as well, but the municipality has attracted funding from the European Union (EU)," Lazdovskis said.

He also explained that it should not become systematic that the owner of a structure chooses not to invest in the maintenance of transport infrastructure. "We cannot end up with a situation where the owner deliberately does not take care of critical infrastructure because taxpayers will pay for it anyways in the end. This would not be a fair practice and we would certainly not support it," stressed the LVC head.

At the same time, he stressed that bridges continue to be a challenge, but the proportion of bridges in poor condition is relatively low, hovering around 5 percent.

"Bridges are structures that require special care and all bridges are inspected every five years. However, it should also be remembered that if a barrier has crumbled and the bridge appears visually unsafe, this does not necessarily mean that its load-bearing capacity has been reduced," added Lazdovskis. He gave the example of the Vansu Bridge in Riga.

As reported, the new bridge over the Salaca River on the Tallinn Highway (A1), built on the site of the old bridge, will be opened today in Salacgriva.