The structure started its 240-meter journey on Monday.

"It's a very good feeling. It's been a year and a half of very intensive engineering work and we have completed the most important work on the Pärnu Bridge. The following works are needed to build the deck slab, and we are trying to have the deck slab ready before winter comes," said Robert Sinikas, member of the board of INF Infra.

"We will open the bridge to traffic on June 21, 2025. During the works, we will definitely be crossing the bridge by car sooner," he added.

Hundreds of residents also gathered to watch the arch inch into place.

"It's been very exciting, I've been there every day, some days even several times. I puzzled over how it could be done and still got it wrong a bit. But it was beautiful to watch, very well done," said Marko.

"I was here all days. It's an important event for me and interesting from a construction point of view, how it's done you might not see it again," said Olga.

The construction of the bridge and the surrounding streets is the largest investment in the city of Pärnu since 1991 and is on schedule.

"To date, the bridge has cost €22 million. We are within budget, although I must point out that we have ordered almost half a million [euros] worth of additional work on the bridge. This is all for the sake of quality and durability, because it was still a base tender and the tender met all the requirements, but there are works that can be done with better quality materials, with better workmanship, whether we are talking about the bridge piers or the asphalt pavement on the bridge," said Meelis Kukk, deputy mayor of Pärnu.

The new bridge will be Estonia's longest, with a total span of 140 meters. Once completed, the bridge will link the South bank of the Pärnu River to the rest of the city, connecting Laia tänav with Raba tänav.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!