As of now, nearly half of the 174-kilometer highway which runs between Tallinn and Tartu, or around 85 kilometers, is four-lane, not in one contiguous bloc but at various locations; traffic volumes, too, vary widely in different places.

A further third, or 68 kilometers, remains one lane in each direction – another configuration seen is two lanes in one direction and one in the other, known in the Estonian media as 2+1.

The Tallinn-Tartu section of the Tallinn-Tartu-Võru-Luhamaa highway, running the length of the country from northwest to southeast, is one of Estonia's most important traffic corridors, as noted by Tarmo Mõttus, head of the Transport Administration's (Transpordiamet) road maintenance planning department.

Despite this, no further funding for the construction of a four-lane highway between Tallinn and Tartu is in place, while the plan for the next decade does not include any major developments, Tartu Postimees notes.

The Kärevere-Kardla stretch, just to the northwest of Tartu city, completed two years ago, was the last scheduled widening to four lanes and was followed by the completion of the 2+1 Neanurme to Pikknurme section.

While further construction plans are now shelved, the Transport Administration said its is currently preparing various stages of work on almost all two-lane sections, including the preliminary design work on the Puurmani-Laeva section, to start soon, and the same for the Kaliküla area, near Põltsamaa, which is is nearing completion.

The next section which requires actual construction runs on the roughly 22 kilometer section in Järva County, from Mäo to Imavere, the agency says, as traffic volumes have risen by more than expected after the completion of the already four-lane road to Mäo; over 10,000 vehicles per day are recorded at the Mäo end.

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