Port of Ventspils Authority to Renovate the Ventas Bypass Bridge

Author: Port of Ventspils Authority
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Renovation works on the Ventas Bypass Bridge are scheduled to begin in the second half of May. The total cost of the project is estimated at just under EUR 2 million.
The bypass bridge has been in operation since 2009. The renovation works will include cleaning and renewing the protective coating of the bridge’s steel structures and intermediate support piles, restoration of concrete structures, refurbishment of the stormwater drainage system, and renewal of the roadway and pedestrian walkway surfaces.

​Following a public procurement procedure, construction company VIA was awarded the contract for the works. The reconstruction of the bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Residents and visitors are advised to pay particular attention to changes in traffic organisation starting from 1 June.
Ship traffic will be coordinated so that the Ventas Bridge is raised only at designated times — during the night or between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. These time slots have been selected to minimise disruption to road traffic during periods when the Ventas Bridge is open and the bypass bridge, operating with only one traffic lane, becomes the sole crossing over the Venta River. Throughout the construction period, pedestrians will be able to cross the bypass bridge using one of the bridge’s sidewalks.
The Port of Ventspils Authority began construction of the bypass bridge in 2008. The bridge was built within the framework of a European Union Cohesion Fund project at a cost of LVL 4.7 million, based on a design developed by Dutch engineering company Witteveen+Bos. Construction of the access roads cost an additional LVL 1.7 million. The bypass bridge was officially opened in May 2009 after less than a year of construction.
The bypass bridge was built ahead of the reconstruction of the Ventas Bridge in order to ensure traffic flow between the two banks of the Venta River, connecting Rūpniecības Street on the left bank with Fabrikas Street on the right bank. Since the Ventas Bridge was converted into a movable bridge, the bypass bridge has been heavily used whenever the Ventas Bridge is raised.
The renovation of the bypass bridge is planned as one of the activities within the EU Cohesion Fund project “Strengthening Military Mobility and Defence Capabilities in the Port of Ventspils.”