Estonia's longest Sõpruse Bridge, which is currently in a poor state, is destined for repairs this fall. However, it has become clear that this year's repair work will not reach the anticipated volume, Tartu Deputy Mayor Raimond Tamm said.

He said Tartu aims to apply for state resources for building bicycle paths, also on the Sõpruse Bridge, which process has taken longer than expected. "That is why it has proved impossible to announce the Sõpruse Bridge reconstruction tender. We were initially planning to do it a few months ago."

The City of Tartu intends to partially fund the reconstruction of the bridge through the project "Establishment of a main network of bicycle paths on Sõpruse Bridge and nearby Karlova." The total amount of the project is just over €4 million, of which the city is responsible for nearly €1.2 million. The remaining funds are sought as support through the State Shared Service Center's funding measure.

The repair of Tartu's Sõpruse Bridge begins in the fall. "In this specific application round, the eligible applicants were the cities of Tartu, Pärnu and Tallinn. Each city could then submit projects from their perspective that contribute to the financing of missing parts of the bicycle network, to create such complete routes," said Eva Killar, head of the mobility development and investment department at the Ministry of Climate.

Killar acknowledged that funding decisions have indeed taken longer than initially expected, as there were more projects to evaluate than anticipated. Killar added that all the projects submitted by the city of Tartu have been significant from the perspective of the measure and that the process has now progressed to the point where a decision should come next week.

"The investment plan, which includes these projects, has already been approved by the city of Tartu itself and other parties, such as the Ministry of Finance and others. It is now simply in our house for coordination, and the minister is expected to approve it next week."

If decisions are made next week, the tender for the Sõpruse Bridge can be announced, added Tamm. The reconstruction and the nearby area is estimated to cost around €12 million.

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