State of asphalt roads in Latvia reportedly the best it has been in the last 30 years

At the end of 2022 at total of 78.3% of main state roads in Latvia were in good or very good shape. The same applies to 57.5% of regional asphalt roads, which is the best result in the last 30 years, as BNN was told by representatives of Latvian State Roads (LVC).
Since 2005 the percentage of roads in good and very good shape in Latvia has more than doubled – from 32% to 78.3% in the state roads segment and from 22% to 57.5% in the regional roads segment.
«Maintenance of the road network in good state is a very expensive task. In 30 years state roads have been maintained under conditions of insufficient financing, which means shortage of funding made it impossible to perform all necessary repair and maintenance work. Nevertheless, with consequent and reasonable planning, defined priorities and efficient use of available funding it was possible to reach considerable improvements in road maintenance,» says LVC board chairman Mārtiņš Lazdovskis.
The state road network in Latvia consists of 20 034 km. 9 436 km are asphalt roads and 10 498 km are gravel roads.
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Local gravel roads are the least busy in Latvia. These roads have received the smallest investments over the years. This is why the proportion of gravel roads that are in good shape increases very slowly. Last year only 18.5% of regional gravel road and 8.9% of local grant roads in Latvia were in good or very good shape.
LVC reports that most of the national roads no longer serve their main function, and at least 4 000 km of roads should be handed over to municipalities. Maintenance of state infrastructure depends on capabilities of the state budget.
As previously reported, LVC operated with turnover of EUR 14.023 million in nine months of 2022, which is 2% less when compared with the same period of the year prior. The company’s profits went down by 38.4% (to EUR 292 303).
LVC was founded at the end of 2004 and is owned by the state. This company manages the country’s road network.