At the end of January, construction works on an ambitious project for the integration of the Rail Baltica railway infrastructure with the infrastructure of the centre of Riga will begin. To ensure the safety and convenience of traffic around the Central Station, three intersections will be rebuilt and modern pedestrian, cyclist and public transport infrastructure will be built by the end of the year.
The objective of the project “Rail Baltica railway infrastructure of European significance within the infrastructure of Riga State City Centre” is to ensure safety and convenience of movement for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport in the area adjacent to the Central Station, promoting development of the station’s multi-modal public transport hub as a Baltic-scale mobility site.
The construction zone covers the whole of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment, from 13. Janvāra Street to Jēzusbaznīcas Street, as well as the areas adjacent to Riga Bus Station and the Central Market. Several crossroads will be rebuilt in the area – the intersection of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment, 11.Novembra Krastmala and 13. Janvāra Street, the intersection of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment and Turgeņeva Street, and the intersection of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment and Puškina Street. In addition to the crossroads mentioned above, the intersection of Timoteja Street and Turgeņeva Street, and the intersection of Gogoļa Street and Gaiziņa Street is also planned to be rebuilt.
The project will incude a full redevelopment of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment, including all subterranean and other engineering communication systems – external water and sewerage networks, gas supply systems, electricity and distribution grids, etc., will be renovated. Heating networks will also be changed on Gogoļa Street. A complete street structure will then be built in place of Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment. The cycle parking space will be built throughout this stretch, as will the pedestrian bike ramp linking Maskavas Street to the planned Rail Baltica railway bridge over the Daugava.
Throughout the whole area planned for infrastructure conversion, the project envisages safer mobility solutions for pedestrians and cyclists, and improvement of the environment and greenery. The pedestrian tunnel on Gogoļa Street by the Central Market will be converted into a bike shed. On Maskavas Street and Gogoļa Street the project also envisages the conversion of tram and trolleybus contact networks. As part of the project, two bridges over the city canal will be rebuilt – on Maskavas Street and Ģenerāļa Radziņa Embankment. Outside the city canal, construction work will also take place next to the area where the Titanic shopping centre used to be located. Steps and a wharf will be built to ensure access to the canalside.
Upon completion of the purchase by Riga City Council, development and construction of the building design according to the principle of “design and construct” shall be carried out by the general partnership RBBL, which is a merger between SIA Binders, AS LNK Industries and SIA Nords Construction. The development and harmonisation of the building projects is already at the finish line. Construction supervision will be carried out by Firma L4 Ltd.
The project “Integration of the railway infrastructure of European significance “Rail Baltica” within the infrastructure of the Riga State City Centre” is implemented with the specific support objective 6.1.7.1 “Upgrading of the support infrastructure related to the Rail Baltica project” of the 2014–2020 European Union Funds programming period operational programme “Growth and Employment” 6.1.7 “Multi-modal Transport system”. The total budget for the project is EUR 28 million. The majority of the funding, EUR 23.8 million, comes from the Cohesion Fund, the local government and state budget grant is EUR 4.2 million.
