Mäo traffic interchange opens with five bus stops and two roundabouts

The upgraded Mäo traffic interchange has opened with five bus stops, two roundabouts and a 30-space car park, ERR reports. The improvements are expected to make travel easier for people in central Estonia, with long-distance commercial buses now stopping at Mäo.

A Lux Express bus made the first symbolic stop there on Friday, marking the end of the reconstruction and the start of bus services. From Monday morning, 10 Lux Express services will run towards Tallinn and 10 towards Tartu, said Urmas Kupp, director of the Järva County Public Transport Centre. Other bus companies may begin stopping there from November 2.

The interchange has no permanent public toilet. Passengers currently have access to a temporary container toilet.

Transport Administration director Priit Sauk said the agency is responsible for maintaining and developing state roads, but is not required or authorised to fund additional passenger terminals. Public transport centres and local governments can build stops or terminals, he said.

The Järva County Public Transport Centre is considering selling an unused former passenger terminal and using the proceeds to build a new one at Mäo, which would also address the lack of a toilet. Infrastructure Minister Kuldar Leis said such projects should involve cooperation between the state and local governments.

Work also began symbolically on Friday to rebuild the Tallinn-Tartu highway between Käsukonna and Imavere. The eight-kilometre project, which includes a multi-level interchange at Imavere, is expected to take about two years. Sauk said a further 15 to 16 kilometres between Mäo and Käsukonna also needs to be built, subject to funding in the next financing period.