Tallinn's Peterburi tee improvements coming, much depends on city budget
An overhaul of a major Tallinn thoroughfare hinges on the city's budget negotiations, which will be ongoing through the fall.
Peterburi tee runs west to east, a distance of nearly 8 kilometers, from the Sikupilli neighborhood to the outskirts of town.
It is used by a lot of heavy vehicles such as trucks, and large stretches of it are in a poor state of repair.
In addition to road improvements, the City of Tallinn plans to add cycle lanes, sidewalks, and landscaping, along one stretch, which runs between the Majaka and Väike-Paala intersections (see map), and the intersections themselves.
The speed limit will remain as it is, at 50 km/h, the city government says.
The work is due to commence in the fall, and the city is announcing a construction tender mid-month this month with that in mind.
Deputy Mayor Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) said that construction could begin as early as October, provided there are no appeals or other hold-ups with the tender process.
The Majaka and Väike-Paala stretch is estimated to cost the city €13 million to renovate, nearly all of it to be provided by Tallinn, topped up by around €400,000 to come from two interested parties – namely Tallinn Vesi, the capital's water and sewage provider, and Rail Baltic Estonia.
The remainder of the road's renovation costs depend on the city's budget negotiations, Pere added.
He said: "This is a significant project. However, when compared with, for instance, the construction of the Vanasadam tram extension, which is due to be completed in November, it is only about a quarter or even a fifth on that scale. It isa big job, but certainly not among the largest the city has ever undertaken or seen."
Pere said the Majaka to Väike-Paala stretch could be completed by the fall of 2026, ie. around two years from the start of work.
After this the city is to turn its attention to the section of Peterburi tee further to the east in Lasnamäe, between the Mustakivi and Väo intersections.
Much will depend on the city's budget discussions on this – ie. whether the stretch also gets a full overhaul or if it is more a question of patching up potholes and resurfacing asphalt.
"We need to discuss this in the city government this fall because it is a project with a very significant budgetary impact," the deputy mayor noted, putting the price of the running repairs at likely €3 million-€4 million, compared with €20 million, estimated, for the full makeover.
What will happen in the section between Väike-Paala and Mustakivi, ie. the linkup between the two stretches due to be improved, is not yet clear.
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Editor: Kristopher Muraveiski, Andrew Whyte