Viaduct demolished by Estonian Defense Forces and Transport Administration
The Transport Administration and the Estonian Defense Forces demolished the old Halinga railway viaduct in Pärnu County on Wednesday evening to make way for a future expansion of the road.
The viaduct was slated for demolition because both its location and structure interfered with the construction of a four-lane Tallinn–Pärnu–Ikla highway.
The structure was blown up at around 11 p.m. last night. Traffic was diverted until 6 a.m. when the road was reopened.
The demolition gave the EDF the chance to practice using explosives for military defense purposes.
The Halinga railway viaduct was the only surviving narrow-gauge railway viaduct in Estonia. The railway had been used for years to transport peat from the Lavassaare bog to the Tootsi briquette factory.
"The old railway viaduct had long been ownerless property, which, during the expansion of the Tallinn–Pärnu highway, would obstruct the new road both in terms of its location and structure," explained Olari Valter, an expert in bridge management at the Transport Administration.
The demolition of the railway viaduct is part of the construction of the 2+2 lane Halinga–Kangru road section (km 103.5–108.5) of the Tallinn–Pärnu–Ikla highway.
The total cost of the works is €25.5 million, excluding VAT. The construction is co-financed by the European Union at a rate of 85 percent.
This article was updated to add the video.
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Editor: Helen Wright
