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The widely publicized Bastionai Bridge project is no longer a priority issue for the municipality of Klaipėda. It turned out that the implementation of this idea is postponed indefinitely, despite the fact that almost a third of a million euros of the city’s budget has already been spent on the non-existent bridge.
An unexpected message during the meeting.
At the last meeting of the Port City Council in late April, when presenting his annual activity report, the Director of the Administration of the Municipality of Klaipėda, Gintaras Neniškis, repeatedly stated that the construction of the Bastion Bridge was abandoned and that the contract with the designers would end.
Judicial Council member Simonavičiūtė noted that, however, that decision should be made by politicians and not by officials.
However, other council members did not appear to hear these comments.
That’s what the idea of stopping the implementation of the Bastion Bridge idea was about to end.
He changed his mind: The construction of the old idea of a grandiose bridge over Bastiono Street across the Dangė River appears to have been abandoned indefinitely. (Shutterstock photo)
It was so far
However, this idea has already gained momentum: a bridge project, from Bang, str. Of the 11 residents whose homes allegedly disrupted the bridge-street connection, the municipality took real estate for public use, allocating nearly a third of a million euros in compensation.
An environmental impact assessment was carried out, but only the technical design knowledge and the construction permit were missing.
However, the idea of a four-lane elevated Bastion Bridge is postponed indefinitely.
“The bridge project turned out to be quite costly for city leaders. The city would need a smaller bridge, so it would need a smaller project. So it stands to reason that the contract with the designers would be terminated if no plans were made to build such an object, “said Gintaras Dovidaitis.
A cart was built in front of the horse.
An unpleasant question of money
However, it is clear that designers will be held accountable for the work they have done, even though the project they have prepared will not be carried out.
The amount could not be disclosed.
It is also unclear whether the contract provides for any compensation for the sanctions.
“We will try to negotiate. We cannot deny that part of the design work is carried out and part cannot be done because of the contractor. It must be recognized that the client, the municipality, did not coordinate these solutions properly. Part of the funds will have to be paid” . change the project, make it cheaper and more efficient than finish it as it is now. It is unfortunate that the failed project has come out, but the reality is like this, “G. Neniškis lamented.
It is already clear that the specific EU funds (around € 7 million) for the construction of the bridge, which had to be absorbed by 2022, will also be lost.
Plans: Across the Dangė River for 20 million. It was planned to build a four-lane bridge. (Project visualization)
The opinion changed after the elections.
Opinion on the need for the Bastion Bridge for the city of Klaipeda began to change radically after last year’s municipal elections.
Then some newcomers to the town hall made an effort to make the bridge pedestrian.
And the initiators of the idea of the bridge regretted that in this case “the city does not come out of stagnation.”
So, one of the initiators of the Bastion Bridge idea, a former member of the port city council, now MP Simonas Gentvilas, told the newspaper that it would be irrational to abandon the bridge.
A Seimas member expressed regret that “the elections are over and the old bills are still being reconciled.”
Was the ambition too high?
G.Neniškis, director of the Klaipėda municipal administration, made no secret that the initial Bastionai bridge project “was not very measured and evaluated.”
Gintaras Neniškis / Editorial Stock Photo
“Initially, a project was prepared, and only then was the environmental impact assessment report prepared. Heritage environmentalists and conservationists made comments. They did not see the possibility of such a bridge. In their opinion, the bridge should be two-lane, Smaller, not 4, but of course, it might be possible to argue with them and prove one’s truths, but such a large bridge is also not acceptable to citizens “, – G. Neniškis mentioned the reasons for stopping the project.
Therefore, according to him, the municipal administration leadership decided to look for another option.
“We are not abandoning the idea that such a connection is necessary for the city. And that idea must be realized, but not the one that was currently being designed. Therefore, the contract with the designers will have to be terminated, the procedure will have to be restarted and solutions that meet our current newer concept acceptable to both the Environmental Protection Agency and heritage custodians as well as residents, “said G. Neniškis.
The head of Klaipėda’s municipal administration admitted that it was first necessary to coordinate the project with environmentalists, heritage conservationists and residents, perhaps then there would have been no such opposition to the new bridge.
“And now a carriage was built in front of the horse. First, of course, it was necessary to coordinate with everyone what project is acceptable to them, only then to find bridge solutions,” G. Neniškis reiterated.
The project would cost twice
The century building had to be abandoned too because it became clear that the terrain of the planned four lane street (from Bangų street to Bastionai bridge) is unstable, consisting of peat and sapropel, therefore would have to blame the piles .
“How much that thing could cost would become clear only after more detailed calculations. The preliminary value of this connection was about 20 million euros,” confirmed G. Neniškis.
However, last year it was announced that the construction of a new bridge with a lifting mechanism across the sky, the provision of accesses on the riverbank and the construction of Bastionų Street should have cost 9.6 million. euros
The EU had to allocate 6.9 million. The state budget provided 454 thousand, and the financing fund for the Highway Maintenance and Development Program – 306 thousand. euros
The planned Bastion Bridge was to be 55.5m long and 19.8m wide. The height of its causeway should be 4.91 m above sea level.
The planned Bastionų street had to be expanded to four lanes with 1.5m wide pedestrian walkways on both sides and a 3m wide bike path on one side after the bridge construction.
About 19,000 people were estimated to drive on Bastionų Street per day. automobiles, of which – up to 1.5 thousand. buses. It would ban freight traffic.
According to plans, construction of the Bastion Bridge would begin this year and will be completed in 2022.
Miles – to score?
As it turned out, a lot of money has been spent so far on the idea of a project that will remain on paper.
First of Bangų st. 11 residents of the house bought properties that were taken for public use.
Raimonda Gružienė, head of the Klaipėda Municipality’s Land Administration Department, confirmed that it cost the city 280,000. euros
All apartments, all premises are exchanged from the owners.
The owners of the two premises sued the municipality for conditions that did not satisfy them, but it was finally resolved amicably.
“Once the property has been taken for public needs, the project must be implemented within 10 years. If this is not done, the question may arise of returning the seized property to the population. However, we have not had such cases yet. “said Edvardas Simokaitis, head of the Klaipeda Municipality Property Department.
In the event that a house taken for public use is not demolished within a decade, residents would be entitled to purchase their old apartments at the price paid by the municipality.
However, that house will definitely have to be demolished, but the municipality, according to G.Neniškis, still does not have money for this project.
“Currently, the city’s priorities are different. During this period, we will try to design an acceptable connection. We will look for ways to fund it. How long does the Bastion Bridge take? For now, we will postpone everything and look forward to the next funding period for the EU, if still “We will try to find opportunities to receive financing. And the municipality’s three-year strategic plan does not contemplate the implementation of this solution, “said G. Neniškis.
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