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A contractor is sought to improve two sections of the cycle path in Neringa from Smiltyne to Juodkrante

2022 09 05

A public tender is announced for the improvement of two sections of the pedestrian and cycle path in Neringa, from Smiltyne to Juodkrante (sections 2.104 km to 2.956 km and from 2.956 km to 15.567 km). It is expected that, following procurement procedures, the contract for the works will be ready to be signed in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of cost-effectiveness, with the best proposal being selected on the basis of price/quality criteria. The qualitative criteria in this tender are the time frame for the completion of the works in months, how long after the reconstruction it will be possible for cyclists to use the path, the additional duration of the guarantee period of the structure in years and the price.

“The condition of the heavily deteriorated cycle path in Curonian Spit is unjustifiable and intolerable, and it is regrettable that reconstruction works have been delayed for decades. So we have hurried up the work as much as possible and we have important news for all cyclists that the Road Administration is looking for a contractor for two sections of the path and the reconstruction of the path will be started,” says the Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė.

The project foresees that the new path should be widened to 3.5 m (currently the width varies from 2 to 2.5 m). The resurfacing and widening of the path will make it safer and more comfortable.
The other part of the path, from Juodkrante to Preila, is expected to be completed later this year, and tenders for the contract could be announced at the end of this year or early next year.

According to Remigijus Lipkevičius, Head of the Lithuanian Road Administration, the path passes through a protected area in the Curonian Spit, and therefore, prior to the realisation of the projects, the approvals of the Curonian Spit National Park Directorate and other interested institutions had to be obtained.

The Road Administration was only able to start design work on the path after the municipalities of Neringa and Klaipėda agreed to sign cooperation agreements and received decisions from the municipal councils that the municipalities would take over the ownership of the path when it was completed. After the improvement and handover of the pedestrian and bicycle path, 850 metres of the path will belong to Klaipėda City Municipality and about 34 kilometres to Neringa Municipality.

Until the start of the construction works, the path will continue to be maintained by AB “Kelių priežiūra” to ensure that road users can use it.
According to the Centre of Registers, the first section of the path from Pervalka to Pervalka Beach was built as early as 1978. Subsequently, separate sections of the path were built at different times. The total length of the Smiltynė-Nida path is currently around 50 km. Most of it, almost 36 km, belongs to the State Enterprise Lithuanian Road Administration as of 2019, while the rest belongs to Neringa Municipality.