New traffic intersection at Väo lacks required permission to use
A viaduct carrying a stretch of highway on the eastern edge of Tallinn has no valid permit for use, despite having been open for over 18 months.
The intersection is at Väo, in the Lasnamäe district of the capital, and is a part of the Tallinn to Narva highway. The relevant authority, the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet), says the permission is pending.
Ene-Liis Bachmann, project manager at the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), confirms that that authority as as yet not issued a use permit for the viaduct to the Transport Authority.
Bachmann told ERR that: "Along with the application for a use permit, the project on which the construction was based must be submitted: Construction drawings, diaries of construction work, records of covered works and, if necessary, also an expert opinion on the construction project."
"That the documentation has not yet been fully completed and therefore no application for a use permit has been submitted for the viaduct," Bachmann went on.
Margus Viiklepp, head of the construction unit at the Transport Administration's Northern department, however, said the agency had as of now not yet submitted an application for a use permit: "This is the case, yes. The acceptance process for the object in question began in 2022. But unfortunately, considering its complexity, there are currently several electrical connections included, which have taken significantly longer time than planned."
Additionally the Transport Board also built a storm water pipeline integrated with the Väo intersection, and it, too, lacks a permit to use.
Viiklepp added that it is more convenient to submit applications and documents for two facilities at the same time.
The intersection was completed in January 2022, while a permit for use is not required in respect of the road itself, it is needed in respect of the viaduct.
The electricity connections should be finished soon, Margus Viiklepp added.
Viiklepp added that the awaiting paperwork will not likely stop the road opening; provided the Transport Administration assesses the intersection and the viaduct safe, this can go ahead, he said.
This is also due to the high traffic volumes on the Narva highway and on the nearby Tallinn ring road.
Bachmann said that, officially, the permit issuance should be waited for.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Mirjam Koch.
