Hovercraft service opens on unofficial ice road on Lake Peipus
Residents on a small island in Lake Peipus are using an unofficial ice road to travel to the mainland using both vehicles and hovercraft, but authorities say there are no plans to make an official track.
On Wednesday, there were few passengers on the hovercraft departing from Laaksaare harbor to Piirissaar. The island has about 30 permanent residents, but several hundred in the summer.
Tartu Municipality Mayor Jarno Laur said: "Every winter we have scheduled hovercraft trips, which are regular service routes operated by the public transport center, and the municipality also has a reserve hovercraft. In addition, local residents can use light vehicles."
A track has also been marked over the lake ice with spruce trees to guide drivers on ATVs or snowmobiles from Laaksaare harbor to the island.
Laur said there are no plans to create an official ice road because the current solution allows lighter off-road vehicles to transport goods to the island's residents.
"So this kind of classic ice road has been more for satisfying the curiosity of mainland people," Laur said.
Jalmar Ernits, head of the Mustvee border station of the Police and Border Guard Board, said the ice on Lake Peipus is approximately 40 centimeters and in good condition.
"In connection with that, off-road vehicles are permitted on Lake Peipus, Lake Lämmijärv and Lake Pskov. An off-road vehicle broadly means an ATV or a snowmobile, and off-road vehicles are not SUVs. Off-road vehicles are specifically defined by law, meaning SUVs are not allowed on the lake ice," he said.
Residents plan to use the unofficial ice road as long as conditions allow.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Helen Wright
