Reidi tee to open on Friday afternoon

Reidi tee, which links the harbor area in Tallinn with Kadriorg, east of the city center, is due to open to traffic after lunch on Friday, Tallinn City Government has announced. The development not only facilitates road traffic from and to the harbor, but will also have cycle lanes and is an extension of the seafront promenade.
Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Centre) said that the road was not merely a new highway, but also represented a development of Tallinn's urban space, and an opening of the city to the sea, according to a city government press release.
"The waterfront promenade is in this way like an extension of Kadriorg Park, where parks and recreation areas have been created for families and walkers to spend their leisure time, as well as cyclists and sportspeople," Kõlvart said.
Both new and existing road sections, including for pedestrian and light traffic, have been constructed and reconstructed over a total of approximately 14 kilometers, which Reidi tee makes up just under two kilometers of. A 1.4-kilometer section of Narva maantee was also reconstructed during the work, the city government says.
A total of 10.5 kilometers of new pedestrian ways and footpaths were constructed, with a beach promenade with recreational areas added.
Reidi tee construction was carried out by Verston Ehitus OÜ and KMG Inseneriehituse OÜ.
"The biggest challenges for the builders were the construction of a road to the sea, where Tallinn reclaimed 7,500 square meters of land from sea, and the rebuilding of intersections involving very heavy traffic," said Veiko Veskimäe, board chair at Verston.
"The purpose of building in an urban environment is to minimize the disruption to the normal functioning of the local community and to solve ongoing problems smoothly," he added.
"An interesting challenge turned out to be special construction engineering solutions, including the construction of the largest rainwater pumping station in Estonia. We are delighted that our team, in partnership with the city, excelled in dealing with all the difficult situations and unexpected developments that have occurred during the construction, and that Reidi tee will be completed ... within the agreed deadline.
A total of close to 150,000 trees, shrubs and other plants were put in place, together with 37,747 square meters of new lawns, the city government said.
The total cost of the project came to €43 million, and work included utility works such as water supply and sewage, street lighting, traffic control systems and gas and heating pipelines as well as the actual road building, landscaping etc.
The work, which started in July last year, uncovered several sites of archaeological interest along the way, including the remains of a Crimean War-era artillery battery, a shipwreck dating to the end of the medieval period (which was actually dredged up from the seabed in Tallinn Bay and re-buried ashore some time in the mid-twentieth century-ed.) and several World War Two-era ammunition dumps.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte