The construction of the new Pärnu bridge has taken almost two years. The bridge's arch was put in place last August, with work continuing through the fall and winter. It is now nearing completion.

"Last week we finished the waterproofing work, this week we will do the asphalting. In the coming weeks we plan to install street lighting, decorative lighting and put up the final components of the traffic management system. We are on schedule with our works and can confirm that we will be able to open the bridge on June21," said INF Infra board member Robert Sinikas.

"From the City of Pärnu's perspective, everything is fine, the works are on schedule, the winter has been milder than usual, so the works have been completed. So far, €26.6 million has been allocated from the city's coffers for the construction of the bridge, and the estimated final cost is a little over €28 million," said Pärnu Deputy Mayor Meelis Kukk.

As a result of the tender, the total cost of the bridge was expected to be €26.7 million. According to Kukk, however, the construction of the bridge will be more expensive than originally planned due to the increase in VAT, the construction price index and some additional works. The construction of the bridge's links are also in the final stages and will cost more than €12 million. In this case too, some items have required more investment than outlined from the offset.

"At the junction with Ehitajate tee, for instance, we have built a rather complicated tunnel, which was also built by INF Infra, and the cost increase there has been nearly €1 million, because there has also been a complicated rebuilding of the communications systems," Kukk added.

Pärnu's new bridge will be the longest in Estonia, spanning 140 meters in total. The name of the new bridge is currently under discussion.

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