Traffic was launched over the newly built bridge in Kaunas
Today, traffic was launched over the newly built bridge in Kaunas, that spans across the river Neris (in the section between the kilometres 99.29 and 100.47 of the highway A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda).
“After the complete reconstruction of this bridge, there will be less traffic congestions both for Kaunas residents and all other drivers, and road users will be able to save their time. In general, in the coming years, we will pay a lot of attention to repairing bridges in Lithuania. Currently, there are 73 bridges and overpasses of poor condition on our country’s road network. We want to repair up to 7-10 bridges every year”, – says Marius Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications.
Traffic is allowed on the new bridge and viaduct over Jonava Street. Traffic on the bridge is organised in the direction from Vilnius to Klaipėda. Drivers can turn right to Lapės town, which is located in Kaunas district, and to Panerių Street. They can also turn right to MEGA Shopping and Leisure Centre. All road users, coming from Jonava Street on the existing connecting road, will drive on the newly opened bridge and viaduct.
Drivers are asked to pay close attention to road signs and markings of the road surface, and, also, to drive at a safe speed instead at a maximum speed limit. Until the work of reconstruction of the middle bridge over the river Neris will begin, the section of the highway, where traffic towards Klaipėda takes place, will be for transit vehicles that travel towards Klaipėda.
The new bridge was built in implementing the contract signed between the State Enterprise Lithuanian Road Administration and the contractor ‘Reconstruction of the section between the kilometres 99.29 and 100.47 of the highway of national significance A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda‘. This contract covers more than just the construction of the bridge. The total value of the contract is 32.34 million euros, including VAT.
According to Remigijus Lipkevičius, Director of the State Enterprise Lithuanian Road Administration, during the implementation of this project, a new bridge over the river Neris and an overpass over Jonavos Street have already been built, noise reduction devices and lighting have been installed, bridge accesses have been arranged, by connecting the infrastructure of the new project with the newly installed infrastructure of the project that was completed a few years ago (section between the kilometres 100.47 and 101.79 of the highway A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda).
The project has not yet been fully completed. Currently, the work of a retaining wall installation in Panerių Street is in progress. This work does not do affect the operation of the bridge. The project is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of this year.
The construction of the new bridge and the repair of the A. Meškinis bridges form a part of the Islandijos Road project, that is being implemented. After the completion of the entire Islandijos Road project, flows of vehicles travelling at different speeds will be separated, that is, transit transport will be separated from local transport.
A tender procedure for public works contracts is planned to be announced in the near future in order to start work of reconstruction of the middle bridge over the river Neris, so called A. Meškinis bridge, located next to the finished new bridge, which falls within the section between the kilometres 99.03 and 100.47 of the highway A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda. This is the most intensive road section and bridges in Lithuania. It is estimated that on some days the maximum daily traffic intensity on the highway A1 section between Biruliškės Intersection and Via Baltica, within which A. Meškinis bridges fall, reaches up to 78 thousand cars per 24 hours.