Negotiations are currently underway with landowners to start construction of a permanent bypass around Saatse Boot – a part of Russian territory that extends into Estonia – in April, writes ERR News.
The road connecting the villages of Värska and Saatse crosses Russian territory in two places and was the only road of adequate quality used by local residents until last autumn. After suspicious activities of Russians in uniform were observed in the Saatse Boot area in October, the Estonian government closed the road.
Currently, local residents use the Estonian State Forest Management Center (RMK) road, which does not meet the requirements and has caused dissatisfaction.
After the road through Saatse Boot was closed, the government decided that two bypasses should be urgently built, which in this case means that work was allowed to begin without an environmental assessment. Janar Taal, Head of the Road Maintenance Department of the Estonian Transport Administration, said that contracts have already been signed with builders for the construction of the Lutepää triangle or so-called “small boot” bypass road, and negotiations are currently underway with landowners. At this stage, there are four to five landowners.
Taal told ERR that EKT Teed OÜ will begin work –
first the forest must be cut down, and then the road construction will begin, most likely in April.
There are also minor obstacles related to the takeover of the land, but they hope to resolve them step by step.
The “big boot” bypass road, on the other hand, will be about five kilometers long, and negotiations must be conducted with the seven or eight landowners involved. Taal said that negotiations are also underway with them, and the properties will be taken over in accordance with current legislation. He noted that cooperation with landowners has been successful, and the longer bypass project will also be completed this week. A procurement competition will be announced within the next two weeks.
Taal informed that the entire process is complicated by several simultaneous factors. Currently, the most important thing is to clear the necessary corridor in the forest for the road by the start of the logging work ban, which totals 11-12 hectares. He noted that under normal circumstances, forest work on state property is carried out by RMK, but since all properties have not yet been taken over, they have to take action themselves, which makes the process a little more complicated.
Despite the obstacles, Taal is optimistic that the bypass will be asphalted by autumn. He added that the biggest risk factor is deforestation – if this can be done by the logging work ban, it is possible to complete the road by autumn.
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