RIGA, Nov 4 (LETA) - Next month, bridge over the railroad on Altonavas Street in Riga will be completely closed to traffic, as Riga City Council's External Communications Department informed LETA.

This because of a poor technical condition and cracks in the bridge.

The closure of the overpass will cause inconvenience to traffic, but safety risks posed by the bridge in winter are too high, said the municipality.

Debris falling from the bridge onto the railroad tracks also poses risk to train traffic.

"During the construction of Rail Baltica railroad, the bridge is to be demolished, which is why Riga City Council constantly monitored technical condition of the bridge, maintained the bridge, but did not make any capital investments in bridge maintenance," said Olafs Pulks (New Unity), head of Riga City Council's Traffic and Transport Committee.

The Rail Baltica project has been experiencing protracted difficulties, but today's opinion on the technical condition of the bridge has prompted Riga City Council to take action and close the bridge to traffic for safety reasons.

"I am aware that this is not good news for residents of Pardaugava and Pieriga, but safety comes first, and the Department for Spatial Planning and Mobility is already working on both construction of a level crossing over the railway and preparing a project to strengthen the bridge structures or build a temporary bridge," explained Pulks.

Experts recommend closing the bridge to vehicular traffic, but allowing pedestrian and cycling traffic, as well as continuing to monitor the cracks until the dismantling of the bridge structures begins.

The overpass is to be closed to traffic within a month, but restrictions could come into force sooner if wintry weather conditions prevail. The municipality will inform the public in the coming weeks about the forthcoming entry into force of the traffic restrictions and the detour routes.

The bridge over the railroad on Altonavas Street was built in 1910 and has outlived its usefulness.