The purpose of the checkpoint Rambynas-Dubky in the district of Pagėgiai was to ensure the control of border crossing by vehicles, goods, and passengers crossing a new bridge that was planned to be built over the River Nemunas, the Foreign Ministry said in a draft government decision.
“Trucks and transit will be diverted to the new border crossing point,” Daiva Rimašauskaitė, spokeswoman for the ministry, told BNS.
In late October, the Lithuanian Road Administration issued a tender for the construction of access roads and a bypass, which will be part of the new bridge’s infrastructure.
The construction of the bridge, which will connect Panemunė and Sovetsk, and its access roads is estimated to cost more than 100 million litas (EUR 28.98m). The costs of works in Lithuania may reach between 60 and 70 million litas.
The agreement between Lithuania and Russia on the construction of the new bridge was signed in October 2011 following several years of negotiations.
The new bridge will be built near the old Queen Luisa bride belonging to Russia. The construction of the new bridge is an important infrastructure project as the structure will be part of the road connecting Riga and Kaliningrad through Šiauliai and Tauragė.
