The Utopian plans to establish high-speed motorways to large cities will not be realised in Latvia, but the improvement of the TEN-T road network will be carried out with the funds allocated in the budget and through public-private partnership (PPP) projects, as the Saeima Sustainable Development Committee was informed by the parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Transport Ģirts Dubkēvičs.
The previous promises by then the Minister of Transport Tālis Linkaits to connect Latvia’s largest cities and Riga to high-speed motorways by the 2040 were politically irresponsible, as the implementation of such plans would require several billion euros, Dubkēvičs said.
He emphasized that the situation in the sector is serious, funding for road construction is shrinking, and it is not possible to use European Union (EU) funding for road construction in the new planning period. Also, the Law on Motor Roads is not complied with – diverting 80% of the fuel excise tax revenue towards the State Road Fund for road construction just because the law states “unless the annual state budget law says otherwise”.
Dubkēvičs said that according to the Law in Motor Roads, the funding from the State Road Fund should be EUR 563.9 million next year. However, the real funding available for the construction of roads will be limited to EUR 187 million.
This is why the Ministry of Transport is working on finding other sources of funding, such as PPP projects and funding for military priorities, said Dubkēvičs. He added that the ministry has no plans to drop the rebuilding of Riga bypass. Work also continues on the construction of Bauska and Iecava bypasses.
The Director of the Road Infrastructure Department of the Ministry of Transport, Tālis Vectirāns, informed the members of the commission that the new EU TEN-T regulation, which entered into force this summer, no longer includes the requirement to rebuild TEN-T network roads as high-speed motorways. Currently, the regulation requires two-level crossings as well as opposing carriageways to be separated, for example, by barriers or other means.
Verners Akimovs, member of the Board of “Latvijas valsts ceļi” LLC (LVC), added that from the point of view of the everyday motorist, there is no special difference between a high-speed freeway and a conventional road with two lanes in each direction (2+2), only speed limits. Akimov added that LVC has not given up the idea of building 2+2 roads in separate places, but it is necessary to assess their economic justification.
Vectirāns reported that road constructions are planned based on priorities – surface quality, traffic intensity and regional equality. He also stressed that Bauska bypass, which is planned as a priority, could be completed by 2028, whereas Iecava bypass will be completed shortly after that.
Vectirāns also said that the ministry has plans to restore the previously developed Latvian road strategy “2040” and will present it to residents when it’s done.