€20M Temporary Bridge for Vanšu

Riga wants a spare bridge while Vanšu gets fixed. City Hall can’t even agree if that’s possible.

Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progresīvie) is pushing a temporary crossing next to Vanšu — about €20 million , one lane each way — so the city doesn’t choke when the real rebuild kicks in late 2027. He won’t green-light closing Vanšu until that spare is up. Weekday load on the cable-stayed span: roughly 55–60k vehicles , plus more than 20k public-transport passengers on 759 Rīgas satiksme runs.

The main rebuild is already locked: consortium Vanšu tilts for nearly €70 million , riverbank and Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela (Kronvalda to the bridge) first, then the span itself through 2029. Buy the temporary kit, Kleinbergs says, and the state can park it in civil-military reserves later — lease would cost about the same.