Repairing all poor condition roads would cost EUR 5.4bn

Head of Via Lietuva, the Lithuanian road administration company, notes that EUR 1 billion annual funding for road maintenance is insufficient as it would cost EUR 5.4 billion to repair all roads that are in poor condition and EUR 300 million to repair bridges.

"Funding for the road network maintenance and development reached nearly EUR 1 billion last year, but this did not help to reverse the deteriorating condition of roads, as indicated by the preliminary data of assessment last year," director general of Via Lietuva, Marius Švaikauskas, said at the Road Forum on Wednesday.

According to him, unless stable and adequate funding for road maintenance is provided, by 2035 the number of poor condition bridges would approach 200, whereas 50% of road surface would be substandard, compared with 38.3% in 2024.

What is more, Via Lietuva estimates that in the next four years, by 2028, it will cost EUR 3.6 billion or EUR 900 each year to repair 105 bridges, reconstruct Kaunas-Prienai-Alytus motorway and stop further deterioration of the road network.

Via Lietuva is responsible for the infrastructure of over 21,000 kilometre national road network, over 1,500 bridges, viaducts and tunnels, and over 2,000 km of pedestrian pathways and cycling lanes.