Construction of Kangru junction on edge of Tallinn to start in April - May

This April or May, construction work is expected to begin on the new Kangru junction, which will mean the Viljandi highway moving several hundred meters away from the Harju County village of Kangru. The section, which is just over two kilometers in length, will be converted into four lanes between the outskirts of Tallinn to Luige.
Construction of the Kangru junction will start in April or May this year and end in February 2026, the Estonian Transport Board told ERR.
The section of Viljandi highway from the outskirts of Tallinn to Luige will be converted into a four-lane road. Thus, the section of the Viljandi highway that runs from the outskirts of Tallinn to the Pärnu highway will remain a two-lane road.
The new four-lane road will be built a few hundred meters west of the current Viljandi highway. Part of the existing road will remain a local road and another part will be dismantled, said Ksenia Haavistu, project manager for construction at the Estonian Transport Administration's northern department.
The works taking place this year will mainly be between the current Viljandi highway and Lake Raku, in locations away from road traffic. Construction of the structures is scheduled to start in spring, Haavistu said.
"Significant changes to the traffic management will be communicated to road users in good time, including through the tarktee.ee portal. As a general rule, traffic on the site during construction must be organized a way whereby it is possible to travel at a speed of at least 50 km/h and a 1+1 solution has to be guaranteed," Haavistu added.
Five reinforced concrete structures will be built at the Kangru junction - four viaducts and one light traffic tunnel. Three of those viaducts will cross the future Rail Baltica railway line and one will cross the four-lane Viljandi highway.
One of the viaducts crossing the Rail Baltica line is intended for pedestrians. The tunnel will be built underneath the Viljandi highway.
The construction of the Kangru junction will resolve the intersections between the Viljandi highway, Kurna-Tuhala tee and the Rail Baltica railway line. The works will include the construction of a light traffic route leading from Kangru village to Lake Raku, as well as the conversion of the current intersection of the Viljandi highway and Kurna-Tuhala tee into a multi-level road.
The works will be commissioned by the Estonian Transport Administration and building work completed by AS GRK Eesti. In a competition between four bidders, GRK Eesti won the contract for €21.2 million plus VAT. The construction of the Kangru junction is financed entirely using EU funds.
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Editor: Michael Cole