Jūrmala highway to be narrowed for construction work

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The number of lanes on the Jūrmala highway will be reduced to enable repair work, Jānis Lange, the chairman of Latvian State Roads, said in an interview on Latvian Television.

He explained that drivers will have to contend with a longer drive from Rīga to Jūrmala up until next autumn, when the repairs are expected to be completed. The repairs of the Jūrmala highway are fully government-funded, and will begin on June 4 - just as the summer season at the popular beach resort gets started.

Latvian State Roads announced that both sides of the motorway are due for repairs, and the reconstruction work will stretch from the pedestrian bridge opposite Babīte village to the Jūrmala entrance point. Long lines are occasionally seen on sunny days even before the roadworks are underway, increasingly the chances of major tailbacks for sun-seekers throughout the summer season.

This week, certain sections of both motorways will be narrowed into two lanes to enable repair work. The speed limit will be reduced to 90 and 70 kilometers per hour.

From June 17, one of the roadways will be closed while the other will be used for traffic in both directions.

More information regarding the changes in traffic will be announced in the future.

The company explained that the repairs will include reinforcing the road foundations with recycled old asphalt and the laying of three new layers of asphalt on top. The exit traffic junction with the Rīga bypass A5 (Salaspils–Babīte) will also be renovated.

Contractors “A.C.B” and “Binders” are responsible for the repair work, which will cost nearly 23 million euros.

Lange also mentioned in the interview that 80 more repairs are planned this year, with the focus being on the main highways of the country and regional roads. As European Union funds are already exhausted, the funding for roads in 2021 and 2022 will have to be found from the government budget.

“It is best to finance our roads and take responsibility for them ourselves,” Lange said.

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