Safe and Fast Travel from Kaunas to Warsaw on Via Baltica Motorway
The following basic international standards have been maintained during the reconstruction of state significance main road A5 Kaunas–Marijampolė–Suwałki section from 56.83 to 97.06 km: separation of transit from local traffic, four-traffic-lane road with max permitted speed of 130 km/h, connecting roads with max permitted speed of 90 km/h, construction of dividing lane and grade-separated intersections.
This road section falls into trans-European network road E67 (Via Baltica) development project, and after reconstruction it will meet international safety and speed standards.
Currently, it is one of the most intensive road sections in Lithuania, where head-on collisions make up the bulk of road accidents. Reconstruction should eliminate a possibility of collisions at intersections and traffic accidents with animals. It is estimated that the total number of accidents should decrease by 70 per cent.
During the period of 2001–2017, 256 traffic accidents occurred, where 332 people were injured and 79 were killed, which makes up almost 20 per cent of all fatalities on Via Baltica road. In 2018, 11 registered traffic accidents, out of which 6 head-on collisions and 3 collisions with animals, occurred.
To improve traffic safety, transit traffic will be separated from local traffic, grade-separated intersections and connecting roads on both sides will be constructed. The Lithuanian Road Administration under the Ministry of Transport and Communications considers that everybody should have access to their own property and new businesses and job opportunities should be encouraged.
According to Director Vitalijus Andrejevas, Road Technical Regulations, which have been written based on the experience of Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, have been taken into account when reconstructing this Via Baltic road section. The same requirements are applied to German and Lithuanian newly constructed motorway sections. ‘As far as we know, Poland is planning to reconstruct Via Baltica motorway according to the above mentioned regulations and the motorway will be the same all the way through’, says V. Andrejevas.
Currently, special territorial planning is underway. The opinion of local municipalities on the peculiarities of reconstruction have been taken into account as well.
The project is financed from the Road Reconstruction and Maintenance Programme funds and its preliminary value reaches 300MEUR. Works are to be started in 2021 and completed in 2025.