The government has allocated €2.7 million for the construction of a new road to replace the Värska-Ulitina state road. Currently, the road design process is underway, but it is complicated by environmental protection restrictions and the proximity of the national border, Janar Taal, head of the southern department of the Transport Administration, told ERR.

"We have various restricted zones. The 'Little Boot' area has very limited space — on one side, there is the national border, and on the other, a stream with significant elevation differences, along with its own restricted areas. There are also many natural constraints, including protected species, plant habitats or other objects that impose restrictions. These obstacles exist near the 'Little Boot,' and the bypass for the 'Big Boot' runs through the Mustoja Landscape Protection Area, which is a Natura 2000 site. All of this makes the planning and execution of the work significantly more complex," Taal explained.

The administration plans to begin road construction next year, with the new road from Värska to Saatse expected to be completed by 2028. Once the new road is operational, the currently used roadway will be closed.

"Since the old road runs through the territory of another country, it will be shut down. Otherwise, building the new road would not make sense," Taal explained. "Right now, we are driving through Russian Federation territory without having permission to do so."

For Setomaa Municipality, maintaining bus connections between border villages is a priority, said Setomaa Mayor Raul Kudre.

"In any case, bus traffic must continue in these border villages. This may also improve access to the good mushroom forests in the Mustoja nature reserve. Another positive aspect is that Elektrilevi is planning to lay cables along the new road, replacing the existing ones that currently run through Russia and the 'Boot' area. Right now, if a tree falls on the overhead power lines, the Saatse area is left in the dark for quite a while. Clearly, electricity reliability in the Saatse corner will improve if an underground power cable is installed alongside the new road," Kudre noted.

The Saatse Boot (Estonian: Saatse saabas) is a boot-shaped area of Russian territory of 115 hectares that extends through road number 178 between the Estonian villages of Lutepää and Sesniki (themselves between the larger settlement Värska and village of Saatse) in Setomaa Municipality.

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