New Overpass From Tvaika Street to Kundziņsala Opens in Riga
Construction of the 863.5-metre overpass linking Tvaika Street with Kundziņsala in Riga is complete, and it opens to traffic on 1 November. It will let freight traffic bypass the city centre.
A new traffic overpass from Tvaika Street in Sarkandaugava to Kundziņsala was officially opened in Riga on Friday, 30 October. Construction is finished, and the overpass opens to traffic on 1 November. It gives a direct link between Kundziņsala, home to the industrial area of the Freeport of Riga, and the city's main street network. The project matters because lorries heading for the port will no longer need to pass through central Riga.
The overpass is a section of Riga's inner bypass. Together with the Austrumu Highway and the Daudersala overpass, it will route freight onto the city and national road network, easing the load on the centre and residential areas. Checkpoints at the Riga port on Kundziņsala handle about 360,000 lorries a year, an average of 1,000 a day.
What the project includes
The main route is 863.56 metres long, with additional two-lane and single-lane ramps. The structure consists of eight viaduct sections. The most complex is the bridge over a branch of the Sarkandaugava, whose steel structure was assembled on the bank and slid in sections across the water over roughly four months. A lit pedestrian and cycle path, markings for runners and three lifts have also been built, along with a separate turn-off to the residential area of Kundziņsala.
The total cost is 82.6 million euros. Riga City Council and the Freeport of Riga Authority carried out the project jointly. The general contractor is the partnership "RK link", made up of "Hanza Construction Group", "Binders" and "Tilts".
New checkpoint
With the overpass opening, a new port checkpoint at 42 Uriekstes Street, known as Delta 17, will start work. The Freeport Authority invested 1.3 million euros in it. Until the end of 2026, freight traffic may use both the new overpass with Delta 17 and the existing checkpoint, Delta 1. From 1 January 2027, traffic to and from the Kundziņsala port terminals will run only over the new overpass via Delta 17.
Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said the project improves access to port terminals. Freeport of Riga Authority head Ansis Zeltiņš noted that the overpass will also improve the movement of military equipment.
