Most politicians who have spent the past 20 years eyeing a Riigikogu seat via Ida-Viru County have been feeding voters here empty promises.

It hasn't mattered whether they were from the ruling party or the opposition — they've all been carrying the same honey jar come election time, labeled: "Four-lane highway from Jõhvi to Narva." This has been a recurring core promise, election after election. Yet every year, when the national road maintenance plan for the next four years is released to the public, it's as if that stretch of road doesn't even exist.

This year was no different. Infrastructure minister Kuldar Leis beamed as he announced that more four-lane segments are being added to the highways running from Tallinn toward Tartu and Pärnu. As for Jõhvi–Narva? Nothing. Zero kilometers.

The politicians who boldly promised a four-lane highway in Ida-Viru County ahead of Riigikogu elections usually respond to this kind of outcome by saying, bluntly, that there's nothing they can do — their influence over decision-making is too weak, both in the coalition and within their own parties. There are simply more MPs in the Riigikogu whose voters live in or around the capital or along the highways to Tartu and Pärnu. Every one of them fights first and foremost for their own region's interests. No matter how polite and polished their talk about regional policy may sound on the surface, it's hollow at its core.

So how are decisions made about whether, when and which highway segments are to be expanded to four lanes? Ministry officials respond like they're quoting a memorized nursery rhyme: traffic volume, safety, existing preparatory work and the area's development prospects must all be taken into account.

I asked the Ministry of Climate, which oversees road construction, where one could read the minutes of the meetings where decisions were made about which segments made it into the draft of the four-year national road maintenance plan. What were the arguments for and against each option? Who backed which decision? The response: keeping records of such discussions is not reasonable or necessary, considering administrative burden.

But based on the very criteria they cite, one of the top-ranked candidates for four-lane expansion should be the roughly 10-kilometer stretch between Jõhvi and the Toila intersection. That section sees nearly 10,000 vehicles per day on average. For comparison: on the Aaspere–Haljala segment (in Lääne-Viru County – ed.), which was expanded a few years ago, the number is nearly half — about 6,000.

There have been several severe accidents between Jõhvi and Toila. Just last summer, two people died in one such crash.

The construction design for this segment was completed years ago. According to Transport Administration officials, a tender could be announced immediately and construction could begin as soon as this year. All that's missing is a political decision to allocate the funds.

One of the key arguments against moving forward with the full Jõhvi–Narva four-lane highway is that the border with Russia is closed and the previously projected flow of trucks between Europe and Russia won't be materializing in the coming years. But the winding road between Jõhvi and Sillamäe still sees heavy traffic. The urban area, including Kohtla-Järve, has a population of around 60,000 and houses a significant amount of industry and a port.

Traffic is expected to increase in the coming years. Even government ministers have been tripping over each other to declare how new businesses and hotels will soon rise in Ida-Viru County with the help of the Just Transition Fund. Goods and tourists want to move — fast and in volume.

At the end of the road maintenance plan, it is briefly acknowledged that a four-lane Jõhvi–Toila segment is indeed needed, but the potential construction timeline is listed as sometime between 2033 and 2035. Over the years, politicians have floated other hopeful dates for the full Jõhvi–Narva expansion: 2015, 2020, 2025, 2030...

If one of Estonia's largest counties by population is left with significantly worse highway connections than Tartu and Pärnu, it inevitably hurts business development and thus the development of the entire region.

Last spring, Toomas Luman, head of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Põhjarannik that if roads aren't built, even the remaining large industries and other businesses will tend to relocate closer to Greater Tallinn. As of the beginning of this year, 47.6 percent of all Estonian residents lived in Harju County. At the start of the century, that share was still well below 40 percent.

If things continue at this pace, it will only take another five or six years for Greater Tallinn to absorb more than half of Estonia's population. And with that comes a redistribution of mandates in Riigikogu elections. Once most Riigikogu members' voters are based in Harju County, the interests of other regions will disappear from view as quickly as water drops from the top of Valaste Waterfall.

If the politicians who ran in Ida-Viru County can't even manage to get the Jõhvi–Toila section built, what promises do they expect to run on next year to earn votes in this region? Voters are fed up with this watery mush. People will vote for the one who proves they mean what they say by delivering real asphalt. Or it would be more honest to finally admit that the promise of a four-lane highway was always just bait for votes and to offer new, more believable ideas.

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