Starting from December 1 of this year, the top permitted speed will be reduced from 70 km/h to 50 km/h on the on-ramps and off-ramps on the side of the bridge joining Maskavas iela.
Rīga City Council said the change is being made for safety reasons. The high, exposed nature of the bridge and the sloping off- and on-ramps make road surfaces particularly susceptible to frosts and ice despite the use of anti-slip materials.
Street and bridge maintenance workers will be on duty in Rīga around the clock in order to treat particularly serious slippery sections.
The speed limit will be maintained until next spring.
The Southern Bridge opened in 2008 as an important route bypassing the center of Rīga and is still often referred to colloquially as the "golden bridge": a reference not to the orange-ish coloration of its suspension system but because of the gargantuan 800-million-euro cost of building it.