Assessment Report on the Impact of the Brīvības Iela Backup on Environment Has Been Passed for Public Discussion

Starting from today and up to 27 December, public discussion of the Assessment Report of the impact of the expressway entering into the City of Riga from the A2 motor road up to Vairoga iela (the Brīvības iela backup) on the environment will take place.

The Assessment Report of the impact on the environment has evaluated three possible variants of the route, which differ in their physical location, effect on the environment, the amount of properties to be alienated for implementing the project and other criteria.
“I invite the people of Riga and residents from other local governments to actively participate in this public discussion. The Riga North Transport Corridor is the only transport infrastructure object, which shall be built in Riga in the near future. Thereto, this is the object capable of really improving traffic in the City and this will also positively impact the freight logistics, as well as communication with the regions next to Riga and with other Latvian cities. It is important for us to know the opinion of all the stakeholders on the offered variants of the route location, in order to achieve the  best possible results, when building this corridor,” said Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Riga North Transport Corridor Andris Ārgalis.
The Brīvības iela backup is the first of the four stages of the Riga North Transport Corridor project, for which three alternative route location variants have been elaborated at present. Impact on the environment is evaluated in accordance with several factors: noise level, vibration impact, air pollution, etc. It will be also considered whether any of the route variants crosses the specially protected nature territories.
To secure the noise level determined by normative acts for residential housing, the anti-noise measures will have to be arranged for all variants of the route. The increased impact of vibration during the construction period is anticipated in the direct vicinity of the expressway in all cases. None of the planned route variants impacts the ecological situation of Ķišezers.
If comparing the three elaborated variants by the route location, the main route in the 3rd variant by 97% enters the red line boundaries determined by the Riga Development Plan. Further solving the issue on alienation of land or structures is possible only after completion of the public discussion and adoption of the route’s final variant by the local government and elaboration of the sketch project.
All stakeholders can submit written offers on the Report up to 27 December 2007 to the Environment Supervision State Bureau at 23 Rūpniecības iela, Riga, LV-1045, tel.67321173, the webpage address: www.vidm.gov.lv/ivnvb.
The public discussion meetings will take place on 27 November 2007 at 19:00 at the Garkalne Region Council at 455 Brīvības gatve, on 28 November 2007 at 17:30 at the Riga Northern Region Executive Directorate at 21 Rūpniecības iela, on 29 November 2007 at 17:30 at the Riga Vidzeme Urban District Executive Directorate at 266 Brīvības gatve.
The Report and other public discussion materials can be viewed at:
• The Riga City Council at 1 Rātslaukums;
• The Riga Northern Region Executive Directorate at 21 Rūpniecības iela;
• The Riga Vidzeme Urban District Executive Directorate at 266 Brīvības gatve;
• the Garkalne Region Council at 455 Brīvības gatve on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.00 to 17.00, on Fridays from 9.00 to 16.00,
• The Environment Supervision State Bureau at 23 Rūpniecības iela, Riga, on workdays from 10.00 to 16.00,
• The Lielriga Regional Environment Department at 23 Rūpniecības iela on workdays from 10.00 to 16.00,
• The Riga City Council City Development Department internet webpage: www.rdpad.lv.
The Riga North Transport Corridor is the newly built large capacity motor road, about 28 km long, that will cross Riga in the western-eastern direction, bypassing the Riga historical centre in the northern part. The North Transport Corridor shall be fully integrated into the State system of motor roads, creating convenient connections to the existing motor roads, as well as is included into the structure of the City streets, forming the larger amount of multi-level crossings. The motor road shall also cross the 0.8 km wide Daugava.
Construction of the expressway leading to the City of Riga from the A2 motor road up to Vairoga iela (the Brīvības Iela Backup) is the first of the four stages of the Riga North Transport Corridor project. At present, the optimal model of implementing the Corridor project is considered to be the State and private partnership. The State private partnership agreement anticipates that the State or local government starts making payments for the specific infrastructure object only upon its commissioning and continues making payments on the condition that the private partner fulfils the determined support terms.   In point of fact, the private partner performs construction works at its own expense, and, when the object is commissioned, the City repays the funds during several decades. The private investor also receives the management rights for the cash repayment period that additionally secures the quality of the object.
In the spring of 2006 public discussion of the construction project of the Corridor’s first stage – the expressway leading to the City of Riga from the A2 motor road up to Vairoga iela (the Brīvības Iela Backup) took place as well as the initial public discussion of assessing the anticipated construction impact on the environment. After the public discussion of 4 July 2006, the Riga City Council decided to accept the construction project, determining to consider the alternative variants of the route solution and to elaborate the route sketch project in detail, in conformity with the public discussion results.

Riga City Council
Public Relations Division of the City Development Department
marija.abeltina@riga.lv
dace.kirke@riga.lv
Phone: 67012916, 67037924
Press Secretary of the Riga City Council Deputy Chairman
Anna Kononova
Phone: 67026046, 29213451