Transport

From Žemaičių highway to the international Via Baltica motorway. This is a symbolic bridge linking Lithuania’s past with its present, which reflects changes in economy and the development of roads.

It is for 20 years already that the Lithuanian Road Administration under the Ministry of Transport and Communications has been entrusted with taking care of the state roads whose lengths totals 21268 kilometres today.
Roads are deservedly considered to be one of the most significant branches of economy. About 60 per cent of all cargoes are carried along them, our country is regarded to be an im-portant transit country.

Despite economic fluctuations, the Lithuanian Road Administration consistently seeks to use the funds of the Road Maintenance and Development Programme in an efficient and transparent way so that the roads should be durable and sustainable, and at the same time that they should become modern international transport corridors, a part of European integration, that they should be fast and comfortable, comply with safe traffic, environmental impact requirements.
Inventiveness and diligence of the specialists of the Road Administration, road building and construction companies are valued positively not only in our native country but also on the international arena. Joint road projects financed by Lithuania and the European Union are recognised as the most successful ones in Eastern and Central Europe. New and repaired highways, bridges and viaducts are put into service. Road management systems, road building and maintenance technologies, designing of roads and bridges, research laboratories are becoming more modern.

There is still much to be done. It is a pity that due to a lack of funds Lithuania is unable to operate at full capacity and is made to postpone the projects, which might cost twice as much in some years.

To improve conditions of safe traffic. To maintain roads and bridges. To develop the road network. To implement principles of the sustainable development strategy –these are the main criteria for the activity of the Road Administration today, of the institution where more than a hundred specialists work, where a business-like atmosphere, traditions of professionalism, and a formed combination of productive experience and youth prevail.

Construction of the southern bypass of Vilnius
Building of the southern bypass of Vilnius is in full swing. The economic entities’ group Lemminkainen Lietuva UAB and Panevėžio keliai AB are working in Kirtimø and Lentvario streets. They are reconstructing Kirtimų Street from the roundabout in Savanoriø Avenue (0,18–7,85 km), at the crossing of Lentvario and Kirtimø streets, will build a viaduct, implement safe traffic and environmental protection measures, install lighting of streets, viaducts, pedestrian and cycle paths, reconstruct the utilities.

From the international point of view the southern bypass of Vilnius will have a great impact on traffic of Lithuanian, Latvian and Belarusian vehicles. At the present time transport that is arriving from Klaipėda seaport, western Lithuania, south-western Latvia and going to Belarus uses the current infrastructure of the southern detour of the city of Vilnius (along Kirtimø Street) or other streets in the city. At the present time Kirtimø Street is not permeable, in rush hours there are huge traffic jams there. This street is the most convenient way to reach the industrial part of Vilnius, which is concentrated in the southern part of the city and has already become an international transport logistic centre. Those who come from the western part of Lithuania find it difficult to get to Vilnius International Airport, which is located in the south-eastern part of the city. It is not only local drivers but also carriers of international cargoes who lose a lot of time due to the jams that form there. This does not assure convenient traffic conditions so that drivers could fulfil their tasks faster.
Though Vilnius is the largest Lithuanian city, it has no system of bypasses. The system was begun to be planned more than 30 years ago but it was only in 2009 that the southern inner highway in Vilnius was built. Thus far the western and southern bypasses of Vilnius have not been connected. Vilnius still lags badly behind other Lithuanian cities – Kaunas, Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Klaipėda – in the possibilities to cross the city in a conveniently and fast way.
The long-term Development Strategy of the Lithuanian Transport System specifies that by 2025 a modern system is to be created, which will comply with the level of the European Union states in technical indicators, safety and quality of services. One of the aspects of the transport policy is urban bypasses, which will reduce jams, air pollution and noise in densely populated residential areas.

Work is in full swing in Jakai roundabout
Jakai roundabout belongs to the international IXB transport corridor, therefore passenger and freight transport is always intensive there. It has been calculated that about 25 thousand vehicles cross this roundabout during 24 hours. Severe traffic jams often used to form there.

Transport flows moving in the directions of Vilnius–Kaunas–Klaipėda, Klaipėda–Liepoja, Kaunas–Jurbarkas–Klaipėda distribute themselves in the roundabout. At the present time the reconstruction of the roundabout is the necessity, which will not only improve communication with Klaipėda State Seaport and Lithuanian sea-shore but will also help assure safer and more convenient traffic.
At the end of the past year the first stage of the reconstruction of Jakai roundabout was completed. The 610-meter long elevated road in the directions of Kaunas–Klaipėda and Klaipėda–Kaunas was built in the busiest roundabout of Klaipėda, more than one kilometre of a new road was laid, the tunnel viaduct was reconstructed. The total value of the works done is 82 million litas, 81 million litas of which is the European Union structural and the Cohesion Funds support.

The elevated road is illuminated with modern non-blinding lighting equipment and the roadway is lit with the latest barrier kite-mounted lights of the European model. Flexible bridge-head lighting supports will effectively absorb the impact energy during a car accident and help save the lives of the participants in the accident.

The Lithuanian Road Administration, together with the company Kauno tiltai, which won the competition, signed a contract on the second stage of the reconstruction of Jakai roundabout. According to the contract, the value of works done on the elevated road in the directions of Kaunas–Palanga, Palanga–Kaunas will total 59 million litas (support of the Euro-pean Union Cohesion Funds).

By 30 November 2012, two elevated roads are planned to be built: in the directions of Kaunas–Palanga (317 m) and Palanga–Kaunas (552 m), to reconstruct and build road sections, to lay pedestrian and cycle paths, to install sound walls and lighting, as well as to reconstruct the utilities.
This construction works will assure safe and convenient motorcar traffic conditions that comply with the level of traffic intensity (particularly in summer), the significance of the road and the international standards, will reduce a negative environmental impact and will improve business conditions in Klaipėda free economic zone and in the entire coastal region.

Reconstruction of Grigiškės section
The road E85 Vilnius–Kaunas–Klaipėda of the trans-European network belongs to the international transport corridor. Hence, its quality is of paramount importance to both the development of business and possibilities of Lithuania as a transit state. Constantly growing traffic intensity in this road section near Grigiškės and the location of the settlement determined the fact that the accident rate is one of the highest in this place: a busy international highway divides this ward into two parts – the industrial territory in the northern part and the residential one in the southern part. Pedestrians and cyclists migrate quite intensively between these two territories. The calculations made show that on average 34 thousand 680 vehicles pass Grigiškės during 24 hours.
Prior to reconstruction the road in this section, which corresponded with the category of a highway, was used as a regulated street where there were two crossroads with intersecting transport flows and several places to turn around. Damage situations were often caused by the pedestrians and bicyclists who crossed the highway in impermissible places.

At the present time reconstruction works of a second stage are being carried out through Grigiškės: workers of the general contractor private company Fegda UAB strengthen left pavement and the roadside of that road section, lay a pedestrian-cycle track, build headwalls, an underground crossing (on the left side), install a culvert through the canal and reconstruct the bridge over the Vokė River.

The improvement of technical parameters of road E85 Vilnius–Kaunas–Klaipėda section through Grigiškės will improve the road permeability to the maximal allowable loading 11,5 per axis, will reduce the operational costs of road vehicles. Following the reconstruction of this road section where traffic is especially intensive, the vehicles will pollute the environment much less and will move without making much noise, and after two-level crossings have been installed local transport will be directed along the connecting roads. Therefore traffic on the main highway will become safer. Engineering measures will prevent the pedestrians and bicyclists getting on the highway, thus the possibility of tragic accidents will be reduced to the minimum.

The cost of reconstruction works of road E85 Vilnius–Kaunas–Klaipėda of the trans-European network totals almost 34 million litas, including more than 25 million litas from the European Union Cohesion Fund