The work is set to begin in 2021 after all land buying procedures are finished and contractors are selected, the Vitalijus Andrejevas, head of the road administration, says. And the reconstruction would be completed by the end of 2025.
The Transport Ministry is set to submit a special plan for the reconstruction of the 40-km section and will also ask to start the land takeover procedure.
"Once the government endorsed the special plan, we will call a tender for the design of a technical project and the preparation of the project for such a long section could take up to 18 months. But at the same time we will carry out the procedure of taking land for the public needs," Andrejevas told BNS Lithuania.
In his words, 745 land lots or part of them will have to be taken from their existing owners, with the necessary amount of money is yet to be determined.
The reconstruction is estimated to cost around 300 million euros, Andrejevas said, but the final sum can be higher or lower.
The international four-lane highway Via Baltica will connect Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas and Warsaw. Its total section in Lithuania will stand at 274 km.