Public meeting in Ceraukste to discuss upgrading Bauska highway section to an expressway

A preliminary public consultation meeting will be held today at 18:00 at the Ceraukste community centre (Bauska municipality, Latvia) on rebuilding a section of the A7 state main road, known as the Bauska highway, into a four-lane expressway. The section runs to the Lithuanian border, and the upgrade is linked to the requirements of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Participants will also be able to join remotely, according to information on the website of the Environmental and Energy Agency.

What the project involves

The plan concerns roughly 14.3 kilometres of the A7, from kilometre 71.8 to kilometre 86.1, that is, from the end of the Bauska bypass to the Lithuanian border. The project is being promoted by the state company Latvijas Valsts ceļi (Latvian State Roads).

The road currently has a single carriageway with two lanes. It is to be rebuilt as an expressway with two separated carriageways and four lanes, two in each direction. The design and permitted speed would be 120 kilometres per hour.

Two route alternatives

On 12 January this year, the State Environmental Service decided that the project must undergo an environmental impact assessment. Two options will be evaluated during the process.

The first would build the stretch from the end of the Bauska bypass to the local road A7–Tīreļi–Griezes–Bruči on a new route. It would bypass Ceraukste village and mostly cross agricultural land.

The second would widen the existing A7 and keep it running through Ceraukste village. In both options, the existing A7 would be rebuilt from there to the Lithuanian border.

Deadlines

The preliminary public consultation began on 23 October and will run until 13 November. Written proposals on the planned activity can be submitted to the State Environmental Service until that date.