Via Baltica has been turned into a skating rink, the efforts of road users are no longer enough – drive very carefully

A Facebook member shared a log and photos of the traffic on the Via Baltica highway running at 40 kilometers per hour.

“Skating rink called Via Baltica. I’d rather not drive,” the person shared on Facebook. Commenters on the post joked that perhaps road users were doing the job remotely.

“When I was going to work on Via Baltica this morning, I realized that the road workers were probably working from home or that winter, as always, came unexpectedly. Of the two lanes, one is barely visible, very slippery, growling, be careful, ”shared another Facebook member.

Giedrė Čekavičienė, Head of the Communication Department of AB Kelių Supervision, assures that the situation is very complicated: although the work of several supervisors is very intense, even that is not enough in places where it snows or rains a lot.

Traffic conditions on the roads are difficult due to continuous snowfall (in Klaipėda and Telšiai counties without rainfall, in the rest of the country, snowfall). Road surfaces are slippery, ragged, covered with a layer of loose snow, reaching 20 cm in places with less intensity of traffic on regional roads.

“The general situation on the roads is very wintry. On the highways, the spreaders spread without stopping: spray, wipe, turn, spray, wipe, turn. The fact that traffic conditions are greatly aggravated by snow and in some windy stretches heavy snow gusts. Both maintenance are more complicated and more difficult for drivers, “says G. Čekavičienė to Delfi.

It reported that at full capacity, 337 machines have been cleaning and extending the roads so far.

Difficult traffic conditions were also reported on Tuesday, with drivers in Facebook groups sharing videos and photos of cars crashing into highway ditches.

Road users warn drivers to be careful.

“The fact that we are trying to get the attention of the drivers themselves is to be very, very careful and very careful on the roads. And we fulfill our obligations and fulfill them according to the rules,” says G. Čekavičienė.

Drivers are asked to take into account the condition of the road surface and to choose a safe speed instead of the maximum allowed speed and to maintain a greater than normal safety distance.

“Yesterday, colleagues who were driving on state highways noticed that many cars were ignorant of winter conditions (wind, potholes) and the second lane circulated at high speed, overtaking not only other cars, but also spreaders,” G is surprised. Čekavičienė.

On Level I roads, road workers work 24 hours, Level II – 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., Level III – 4 a.m. to 7 p.m., Level IV – 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. maintenance level V will only be spread or scraped with compressed snow or ice in the presence of extremely slippery road surfaces, i.e. in the presence of rainwater, and only when road work has been completed with a higher maintenance level.

“We pay attention to the need to drive carefully, to maintain a safe distance, to assess that weather conditions, as well as conditions on the roads, can change very quickly. We are committed to ensuring passable roads, we maintain them in accordance with the regulations “, assures the representative of” Road Maintenance “.