Latvian roads require maintenance and repairs to tackle poor condition

The Latvian road builders association, Latvijas Celu Buvetajs (LCB), has warned that the country’s roads require extensive maintenance and repairs. According to the LCB, the state of the country’s roads and bridges continues to decline, with some 62% of state roads and 148 bridges in poor condition. Of the bridges requiring maintenance and repairs, 28 connect main state roads according to the LCB. Meanwhile the LCB’s warnings over the poor condition of the country’s road and bridge links have been echoed by the Latvian Association of Local Authorities (LPS), which has said that 50% of local roads are in a critical condition. The LCB has warned that state and EU funds are insufficient to halt the decline in Latvia’s roads, resulting in costs to the country’s economy of some €840 million/year. Since the liquidation of the country’s State Road Fund in 2003, the LCB says that the deficit for road repairs has totalled €4.5 billion. The LCB has been joined by the LPS and Latvian Association of Passenger Carriers (LPPA) in calling for the State Road Fund to be re-established.