The bridge over Salaca River, which has long been a bottleneck for travelers between Pärnu and Riga due to its single-lane, traffic light-controlled crossing, is set to be replaced. The old bridge has deteriorated to the point where repairs are no longer feasible.

Initially under the jurisdiction of Salacgrīva and, following a municipal merger, Limbaži, the local government lacked the funds to build a new bridge.

"A year ago, the Latvian state took over the bridge from the municipality, allowing us to utilize European Union military mobility project funds to restore this section of the road," said Mārtiņš Lazdovskis, chairman of the board of Latvian State Roads.

The old bridge has been closed, and traffic is now directed over a temporary bridge with a load capacity of 52 tons.

Construction of the new bridge is expected to take a year and a half, but builders assure that traffic speed will not be significantly affected during this period.

"This kind of bridge construction has never been done in Latvia before. It's quite a challenge for us. The Salatsi River is unique in Latvia due to several fish spawning restrictions," said Juris Fridmanis, chairman of the board of Nordes Buve.

The new bridge will cost nearly €15 million. Demolition of the old bridge will begin on Monday and is expected to take three months, after which construction of the new bridge will commence.

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