Traffic jams persist on Riga's Eastern Highway as funding for key intersection remains unresolved
Although Riga's Eastern Highway was built to let drivers bypass the city center, congestion continues at its junction with Brīvības Street, and the city says a fix could take years and tens of millions of euros.
Riga's Eastern Highway (Austrumu maģistrāle) was constructed to allow motorists to avoid driving through the city center, yet the intersection with Brīvības Street remains congested for most of the day. To dodge the backups, many drivers cut through the Teika neighborhood instead, adding traffic pressure to its residential streets.
Oskars Irbītis, a road safety expert with the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), says this particular junction is what prevents the highway from functioning as intended. He warns that traffic volume at this spot is expected to grow further once the fourth stage of the Southern Bridge project is completed.
No quick fix available
Riga city officials acknowledge there is no fast solution. Simply adjusting traffic light timing is no longer enough to meaningfully increase the intersection's capacity. Kristaps Kauliņš, head of the city's Public Space and Mobility Department, said a procurement process has concluded and a feasibility study will begin soon. Over nine months, specialists will compare three options: rebuilding the intersection at a single level, building a tunnel, or constructing an overpass, weighing each for effectiveness, cost, and construction complexity.
Financing still uncertain
Once the feasibility study is complete, the project will require design work and secured funding. No money has been allocated in next year's city budget to begin the project. Preliminary estimates put the cost of rebuilding the intersection at between 10 and 20 million euros.
The municipality considers this traffic junction one of its priority projects for the next EU planning period and hopes to secure European Union funding to carry it out.
