Reconstruction work on Tallinn's Lastekodu tänav reaches final stages
The roadworks on Tallinn's Lastekodu tänav, which so far have lasted over a year, are nearing completion, according to Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE).
According to Ossinovski, the repairs have proceeded in accordance with the contract.
"The contract deadline is November 23 this year. So the work is nearing completion, with most of the work and time actually spent on renovating underground communications: water and sewerage lines as well as the construction of district heating and cooling pipelines. This work was carried out by Tallinna Vesi and Utilitas," Ossinovski explained.
Ossinovski added that the work has already reached the final stages.
"The builder is confident that they will be able to meet the contract deadlines and hand over the project to us in November," said the mayor.
The reconstruction work has restricted access to the popular Tallinn Central Market for the past two summers, and many city residents and local businesses believe it could have been completed more quickly.
"I am not a civil engineer, so I cannot estimate how long the work will take, but as a whole, the city has to be able to forecast the expected construction time as accurately as possible in order to achieve optimal procurement results. There are several issues here. If the construction time is estimated incorrectly – if it is too short – then the tender bids will be too expensive. But on the other hand, of course, if we estimate the construction time as being too long, then it may be a little too easy for the builder to meet those deadlines," Ossinovski pointed out.
The mayor noted that roadworks also naturally have an impact on mobility in an area.
"Tallinn has certainly gained knowledge and skills needed to plan this time better. In the case of the Peterburi tee reconstruction, which starts on Thursday, we have set a clear condition that traffic lanes must still be open, meaning the work has to be carried out in a way that it disrupts other aspects of life as little as possible," said the mayor.
When Ossinovski became mayor, he proposed that work on major road sections could also be carried out later in the day and on weekends. However, on Lastekodu tänav, where the work is only carried out on weekdays until around 5 p.m., he does not consider it possible to tighten the schedule.
"In this area, which is a quiet street with a lot of residential buildings around it, it is definitely not reasonable to carry out long-term night work, because people need to be able to sleep," said Ossinovski.
Renovation work on Lastekodu tänav began at the end of June 2024.
The contractual cost of the construction work is nearly €14 million excluding VAT, of which nearly €3.5 million is co-financed by AS Tallinna Vesi for the construction of water, rainwater and sewerage networks. AS Utilitas Tallinna added €5.16 million for the construction of district heating and cooling networks.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Mari Peegel
