Financing of Latvian roads from European funds has significantly improved their condition. However, Latvia will soon be faced with the task of maintaining this level of quality, since in the new financial period European funds can no longer be used for road construction, said the head of Latvijas Valsts ceļi Martin Lazdovskis on the air of the Case program. Latvian media write about this.
According to M. Lazdovskis, European funds will now be used only for the arrangement of bicycle and pedestrian paths, as well as for measures to improve safety.
«The funding we are used to – for reconstruction of low-bearing capacity roads and repair of damaged areas – will no longer be available“, he explained.
This situation means that in 5-6 years Latvia will face the difficulty of maintaining the current level of roads.
«Most of the funding will go towards updating those areas that we reconstructed 3-7 years ago. For example, on the Tinuzi-Koknese road, the asphalt will need to be replaced within a year or two, since it has served for 12 years. Without timely repairs, we will face the same thing that we see on the streets of Riga, and this is more expensive in the long run. The main task is to maintain the current level of quality“, said M. Lazdovskis and added that Latvijas Valsts ceļi will have about 140 million euros at its disposal, a third of which will be spent on the current maintenance of existing roads.
Source: www.gorod.lv
