Kristiine shopping mall pedestrian tunnels latest construction project for Tallinn
Work on the Endla pedestrian tunnels in central Tallinn starting later this month will lead to a road closure in the area for around two months.
The work is scheduled to be completed in January 2027, at a cost of €4.2 million plus VAT, funded by the City of Tallinn and by water supplier Tallinna Vesi, who will carry out sewage pipe installation at the same time.
Two tunnels will be built which will allow pedestrians and cyclists alike to reach the Kristiine keskus shopping mall from Tehnika tänav, on the other side of the adjacent rail embankment.
At present making that journey on foot or on two wheels requires a more circuitous route under the busy Endla rail bridge.
The tunnels are set to be put in place next summer and will be carried out speedily to minimize rail traffic disruption. "What makes the construction process special is the speed at which they will be installed into the railway embankment. Specifically, within a fairly short time window in the summer – three days – the railway tracks will be dismantled. The contractor will remove the ballast, press the concrete tunnels into the embankment, and then restore the ballast and tracks," explained Ats-Vidrik Tamm, construction project manager at Tallinn's environment and municipal engineering department.
Repair work to surrounding roads and landscaping will take longer, Tamm added.
In addition, the city will upgrade nearby roads and sidewalks, while Tallinna Vesi will install nearly 200 meters of new sewage pipes. The work starts later this month, on October 22, starting with the sewer pipeline laying.
During the first phase, the traffic lane on Tehnika, heading towards Kristiine will be closed for up to two months. Access to pedestrians will be maintained.
The work is to be undertaken by NF INFRA OÜ.
The city government has announced this is one of several projects planned for the area, along with the redesign of Endla, a major thoroughfare, and consolidation of public transport stops in front of the Kristiine mall; the reconstruction of the so-called Taksopargi intersection, a particularly complicated configuration; new bike lanes on Tehnika; the reconstruction of nearby Tulika tänav, the extension of the Liivalaia tram line towards the Kristiine keskus, and, in cooperation with Estonian Railways, the construction of a new railway stop near the Endla viaduct.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
