Major Changes in Tallinn’s City Center Traffic Coming Up
In two weeks, traffic in the heart of Tallinn will be shaken up due to the changing of tram tracks and the closure of two tram lines, making for some uncomfortable changes for people used to navigating the city center.
The roadworks mean that a stretch of Pärnu maantee, a busy commercial artery, will be closed to car traffic and leaving and getting into the city will take longer, ETV reported on Sunday.
The stretch from Freedom Square (Vabaduse väljak) to Liivalaia tänav will be closed to regular traffic throughout the summer, with only buses able to use this route out of the city center.
Entering the city center, buses must take a different route - take a turn from Pärnu maantee to Tõnismäe tänav and then Kaarli puiestee.
Cars must take a different route - turn from Pärnu maantee to Liivalaia when entering the center and turn from Kaarli puiestee on to Tõnismäe and then Pärnu maantee when leaving the center.
Starting from April 7, the tram lines 3 and 4 will be suspended. A temporary replacement bus, number 52, will service the route for the duration of the suspension. Since tracks are also changed in the Viru roundabout, all tram traffic will be suspended from July to August.
The construction work on tram lines is scheduled to be completed in September. After the completion, the section of Pärnu street running from Freedom Square to Tõnismäe will be narrower, because tram tracks will be separated from the street and therefore, parking is no longer allowed on the street.