New section to shorten Tallinn-Tartu highway by five kilometers in future
The Estonian Road Administration and infrastructure company TREV-2 Grupp on Thursday signed a contract worth €50.7 million for the construction of a four-lane section of highway between Kose and Ardu that will shorten the overall length of the highway by 5.3 kilometers.
The signing of this contract is one of the biggest highlights in recent years for Road Administration, as it will sum up a substantial and thorough stage of preparatory work, said Kaupo Sirk, deputy director of the Road Administration.
"The construction of this section of road will be a big challenge for the builder, as we hope to delight road users with the long-anticipated and user-friendly 2+2 section of road by 2020," he added.
As the Kose-Ardu section will follow a completely new route, existing traffic can continue to use the current route without restrictions caused by large-scale construction work until the completion of the new road in 2020.
The new section to be constructed will make up part of the four-lane section of the highway to run between Kose and Mäo. Construction on the new section will begin this August and is expected to last up to 40 months.
The entire new section will feature a 2+2 road with median strip, crossing facilities at Kose-Risti and Ardu, one tunnel and one wildlife crossing, as well as culverts for amphibians and small mammals. Junctions with side roads will feature grade separated crossings.
The current Kose-Ardu section of Tallinn-Tartu Highway will remain in use in the future servicing local traffic and serving as an alternative route for the main highway if needed in special circumstances. The new section of road is being constructed for vehicle speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour.
Editor: Aili Vahtla