Approximately 750 meters of the crossing will be repaired under the agency's plans. Hannes Vaidla, head of the Transport Administration's Western Department, said the work is essential.

"This is our country's southern gate. It has a traffic intensity of about 5,000 cars, half of which are heavy traffic, and it just needs resurfacing. We will reconstruct it as it is now," he said, adding nothing will change for drivers.

Vaidla said there can be extra challenges when resurfacing a border area. For example, the PPA's electrical supply and communication connection must not be interrupted.

The Western Prefecture's Argo Tali said the PPA has also proposed additional electronic information boards should be installed. "It was precisely in the light of the Covid crisis and the arrival of the Ukrainian refugees two years ago that such boards would really have made it possible to share information more quickly," said Tali. Vaidla said preparations will be made for this.

Tali said the resurfacing will not affect the PPA's work, but there is a possibility that temporary border control will be introduced. He does not see the need to significantly change the border crossing's infrastructure.

"If there really are major crises, if we have to reintroduce temporary border control for a longer period of time, then, of course, we are interested in the Ikla border post buildings looking more modern, in having better lighting, in having better traffic signs and so on, but that cannot be an obstacle to doing some kind of tasks or not. We can always solve things with temporary solutions," he explained.

The local municipality, Häädemeeeste, also hopes waste management and the placement of advertising boar will be taken into consideration at the border.

The renovation work will start in the spring of 2026 and will cost around €250,000.

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