On February 13, construction works will begin for the integration of the railway infrastructure project of European importance “Rail Baltica” into the infrastructure of the center of Riga. In order to ensure safe and comfortable traffic around the Central Station, three intersections will be rebuilt by the end of the year and a modern infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport will be built. During the construction works, there will be significant changes in the traffic around the Central Station.
The construction work area of the project covers the waterfront of General Radzis from 13 January to Isusbaznīcas Street, as well as the areas adjacent to Riga Bus Station and Central Market. There will be significant changes in traffic in this area until the fall of 2023, so residents of Riga and city guests are invited to plan their routes in time, to estimate the extra time spent on the road as much as possible, and to respect the new traffic rules during the construction works.
From February 13, the new traffic order will be introduced at the intersection of 11 November embankment, General Radziņa embankment and 13 January street – General Radziņa embankment, in the direction from Akmens tilta to Salu tilta, one lane will be provided for traffic. The carriageway on Maskavas Street will be closed in the direction from 13. Janvāras Street to Centrāltirgus Street in the section from 13. Janvāras Street to the entrance to the Riga International Bus Station. The parking lots of SIA “Rīgas satiksme” on 13 Janvāra street near the railway embankment and bridge will also be closed. Taking into account that the road connecting General Radziņš embankment and Maskavas Street will also be closed, access to Riga International Bus Station and Riga Central Market will be ensured using Maskavas Street from the side of the Salu Bridge. At the end of the week, a new traffic order will come into effect on the waterfront of General Radziņš, in the direction of the Akmens bridge, where two lanes will be open for traffic.
It has already been reported that several intersections will be rebuilt within the framework of the project “Integration of the railway infrastructure of European importance “Rail Baltica” into the infrastructure of the city center of Riga” – the intersection of Generālais Radziņas embankment, 11 november embankment and 13 Janvārs street, the intersection of Generālais Radziņas embankment and Turgeneva street, Generālias Crossroads of Radziņa embankment and Pushkina Street. In addition to the above-mentioned intersections, the intersection of Timoteja and Turgeneva Streets and the intersection of Gogolia Street and Gaiziņa Street are also planned to be rebuilt. A complete reconstruction of the waterfront of General Radzisna will also be carried out, which includes all underground and other engineering communications – the external water supply and sewerage networks, gas supply systems, electricity supply and distribution networks, etc. will be restored. The heat supply networks will also be changed on Gogolė Street. A full street surface structure will be built on the waterfront of General Radziņš along its entire length. In the entire section, the surface of the bicycle path will be restored, as well as a pedestrian bicycle ramp will be built, which will connect Maskavas Street with the planned “Rail Baltica” railway bridge over the Daugava.
In the entire area intended for infrastructure reconstruction, the project foresees safer movement solutions for pedestrians and cyclists, environmental improvement and greening. The pedestrian tunnel on Gogolė street near the Central Market will be rebuilt into a bicycle shed. In Maskavas and Gogoļas streets, the project also envisages the reconstruction of the contact networks of trams and trolleybuses. As part of the project, two bridges over the city canal will be rebuilt – on Maskavas Street and on the waterfront of General Radziņš. At the city canal, construction works will also take place next to the territory where the shopping center “Titāniks” used to be located. To ensure access to the canal side, stairs, a ramp and a pier will be built.
The construction works are designed and built by the general partnership “RBBL”, in which three companies have merged: SIA “Binders”, AS “LNK Industries” and SIA “Nordes Būve”. Construction supervision is carried out by SIA “Firma L4”.
The project “Integration of the railway infrastructure of European importance “Rail Baltica” into the infrastructure of the center of Riga” is implemented with 2014-2020. 6.1.7 of the specific support objective “Enabling the multimodal transport system” of the operational program “Growth and employment” of the European Union funds planning period of 2016. of the event “Reconstruction of the support infrastructure related to the “Rail Baltica” project”. The total project budget is 28 million euros. The largest part is financed by the Cohesion Fund – 23.8 million euros, the municipal and state budget grant is 4.2 million euros.
