"Latvijas Valsts ceļi" (Latvian state roads, LVC) announced that the tender offer of "NB&Tilts" for the construction of the bridge had the lowest price of 14.97 million euros (without VAT); the partnership consists of two companies, SIA "Nordes būve" and SIA "Tilts".
The existing bridge will be completely demolished and replaced by a new four-span reinforced concrete girder bridge with new abutments and steel girders. The builder must start the work by June 10, but finish it in the fall of 2025.
In order to ensure traffic over Salaca during the construction works, a temporary bridge will be built.
On both sides of the bridge, a pedestrian sidewalk is planned to be created in the underbridge section to allow pedestrians to cross.
The development of the bridge project was ordered by the municipality of Salacgrīva, the author of the project is SIA "Projekts 3", construction supervision will be provided by AS "Ceļuprojekts".
However, increased congestion and travel times look a certainty given the high volumes of traffic – including large numbers of lorries – which use the bridge over the Salaca on the European-level E67 Via Baltica route. There are few options for traffic to take alternative routes to pass the River Salaca en route to Estonia unless they are prepared for a signifcant detour.
The bridge over Salaca is already almost 65 years old. It has had repairs, but no major overhaul. Research carried out in the fall of 2020 showed that either serious repairs must be carried out immediately, or the use of the bridge must be restricted.
