Work on permanent Saatse Boot bypass to start later this spring
Construction of a permanent bypass around Saatse Boot in south Estonia, two areas that pass through Russian territory, will start in April and negotiations are underway with landowners.
The Saatse–Ulitina road, which connects Värska and Saatse, passes through Russian territory. After armed, uniformed men were spotted on the road last year, the government blocked access to the sections for drivers.
Locals are now using a State Forest Management Center (RMK) road which does not meet requirements and has caused considerable frustration.
Along with the closure of the road sections, the government decided that two detour roads must be completed as a matter of urgency. This means without an environmental impact assessment.
Regarding the Lutepää triangle, or the "small boot" detour, Transport Administration Southern Road Maintenance Department head Janar Taal said a contract has been signed with the builder and negotiations are currently underway with landowners, of whom there are four to five on the section in question.
"EKT Teed OÜ will start construction. First we need to carry out forest clearing there, and then construction can rather begin in April. There are also some smaller obstacles related to acquiring the land, so we hope to resolve those step by step," Taal told ERR.
The "large boot" detour road, which will be about five kilometers long, involves seven to eight landowners. Taal said negotiations are also ongoing with them, and the properties will be acquired in accordance with current legislation.
He said cooperation with landowners has been smooth, and the project for the large boot detour road was also completed this week. Within the next two weeks, a construction tender will be announced.
The official said the entire undertaking is complicated by the fact that several processes have coincided. At present, the most important issue is ensuring that the forest corridor required for the road — totaling 11–12 hectares — can be cleared before the seasonal logging restriction begins.
"Normally, on state land RMK carries out the forest clearing, but since not all the properties there have been acquired, we have to act ourselves for now, which certainly makes things a bit more complicated," Taal said.
He was optimistic that the "boots" will be paved by autumn. "Today I am still optimistic. The biggest risk issue is forest clearing, whether we manage to do it this spring. As soon as the forest clearing is done, it is actually possible to complete the road by autumn."
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Editor: Helen Wright
