In Lithuania – 1,300 km of gravel roads, for which there is no money to asphalt: “The situation is tragic”

The journalists of the TV3 show “Top 3” revealed what that reality is.

In Vilnius district, in the village of Lindiškii, residents live next to a cratered and almost impassable road that has not been repaired or asphalted for years.

“We have been living here for 8 years and the road is in terrible shape, a tragedy, I can say that. We take the children to the city 3-4 times a day: it’s school, it’s clubs, so we have to pass that way. We drive at a speed of 15 km per hour,” says Donatas Žukauskas, a resident of the Vilnius district.

“The situation is tragic, the cars are damaged and always dirty,” adds resident Eglė.

Locals don’t know what to do, so they resorted to bicycles, because the traffic is much faster with this vehicle than traveling with a car.

“It’s impossible, with a bicycle it’s cleaner and more environmentally friendly, I exercise, and I can go around craters. I don’t ride this road, I’d rather go around in a circle,” says Edvinas, who rides a bicycle.

There is no money for roads

However, this path is only the tip of the iceberg. It turns out that there are as many as 1,300 kilometers of gravel roads in poor condition in Lithuania, for which there is no money to repair.

“Declarations do not really correspond with actions, because it was delayed already last year, that program was not prepared and in reality, it does not exist this year, only one million euros is allocated to finish the tips from the rest of the program,” says Seimas member Rita Tamašūnienė.

So no new asphalt will be laid on the gravel roads this year, next year too, and in 2026 – zero euros are planned for the asphalt of gravel roads.

“There are only 7.7 million left this year, and that’s only to finish the started works, and next year, one million is planned, and for the 26th year – zero,” says Ričardas Juška, chairman of the State Management and Municipalities Committee of the Seimas.

According to Martynas Gedaminskas, representative of “Via Lietuva”, priority is now given to other projects: the continuation of “Via Baltica”, connecting it to the Polish border, and the implementation of military mobility projects.