Tallinn roadworks overrun schedules, leaving drivers stuck in traffic
Several street repairs in Tallinn, Estonia's capital, are taking longer than planned, with some continuing into mid-November. A deputy mayor admits that procurement began too late this year.
Several roadworks in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, are running behind schedule this year, and some will continue until mid-November. Lane and street closures are causing heavy congestion, and Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa party) acknowledges that the city launched procurement for the repairs too late.
Which works are delayed
Resurfacing of Liivalaia street was due to be completed on Sunday, October 18, while repairs on Kreutzwaldi street were scheduled to end even earlier, on the Friday. Both deadlines have been missed. Liivalaia is a major through route in central Tallinn, and traffic on Kreutzwaldi was already disrupted by construction of the new building for national broadcaster ERR before the roadwork began.
Work on Peterburi tee is nearing completion, but it too has caused hold-ups on this key thoroughfare. The site is close to Ülemiste City, a large business and residential district.
A Tallinn resident named Merle told the programme "Aktuaalne kaamera" that she loses roughly 20 minutes a day in the area. Another resident, Artur, said he had spent an hour or more in traffic.
Reasons and promises
Järvan attributes the delays to unforeseen circumstances. A gas leak was discovered on Liivalaia street, so resurfacing was postponed; it is due to start next Monday, and he hopes to finish the whole project in the first weeks of November. The Kreutzwaldi repair should end by the end of October. Peterburi tee is on schedule, he said, and the Väo section will be tackled next year.
Tanel Jairus, a mobility engineer at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), said the duration of roadworks is hard to predict because no one knows what lies underground. Laying materials requires specific temperature and humidity conditions, so large projects cannot simply be spread evenly across the year. He believes major changes to how roadworks are organised would make matters worse.
Järvan admitted that repairs only began at the end of summer because procurement started too late. The city has worked to finish procurement earlier this year, so a contract can be signed at the start of next year and works can begin in spring. Other large projects are also under way, including the Hippodroom intersection west of the city centre.
