According to Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform), the government will provide €281 million for road maintenance in 2026, which is a 30 percent increase on previous years. Of that, €114 million will come from the state budget.

"One important component is the annual motor vehicle tax, which has been agreed at €85 million a year. That which all vehicle owners pay will be put back into the roads," Leis explained.

"Another component, which in the future will be specifically for the construction of four-lane roads, is European Union money, because in Europe, the transport funding budget will double in the period up to 2028, and the military mobility budget will also increase tenfold. Funding is in place for this year and next, and from then on, it will be partly European money," the minister added.

The government has also pledged to build four-lane highways from Tallinn to both Tartu and Pärnu by 2035. That will cost €376 million over the next four years.

Construction work has already begun on a 45-kilometer section of the Tallinn-Pärnu highway, with work also set to start this year on a 20-kilometer section of the Tartu highway, near the Imavere bypass.

An additional 180 kilometers of highway will be reconstructed, while 460 kilometers of gravel roads are set to be covered with dust-free surfacing.

"In the past, we were able to show every year that the road conditions had improved, but this has not been the case in the last two years," said Pritt Sauk, director general of the Estonian Transport Administration.

"Now I really hope that, with the road maintenance plan that has been approved today and the previously agreed increase in funding, we will be able to show in the coming years that the condition of our roads is improving, and improving significantly," Sauk added.

According to the Estonian Infra Construction Association (ESTICA), €370 million needs to be invested in the country's road network this year alone.

"The state has found additional funds for this. However, the increase in these funds will primarily be used for development, that is, for the construction or reconstruction of state roads," said ESTICA's Executive Director Tarmo Trei.

"To a certain extent, additional funds are also needed for road maintenance to ensure the existing road network meets the necessary requirements. However, in either case, the needs identified by the state are still a long way off being met," Trei added.

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