Since the beginning of this year, we have been working on the Rail Baltica route in Rapla County, where we are constructing box culverts for the general contractor Verston on the Rapla County Phases I and II section between Kohila and Rapla. Our contract covers 41 precast concrete boxes with a total length of 840 meters, which amounts to nearly 3,000 m³ of concrete structures. To construct them, we will erect approximately 12,600 m² of formwork and install about 400 metric tons of reinforcing steel. Most of the work will be completed this year, with the construction of seven box culverts remaining for next year.
Box culverts are essentially reinforced concrete tunnels that channel water and landscape features through the infrastructure and provide the technical solutions necessary for the route to function. Along the Rail Baltica route, they also play a crucial role in preserving the natural habitat—thanks to these passages, wild animals and smaller game can continue to move through their natural habitats without having to cross the railroad tracks. This reduces landscape fragmentation and maintains the continuity of animal migration routes. Rail Baltica connects Estonia with Europe, but it is equally important that the route also helps connect Estonia’s own natural habitats, which have until now been fragmented by roads and other infrastructure.
New Railroad Viaducts: Pureva and Tamme
In late summer, we also began collaborating with Järelpinge Inseneribüroo on this section of the route; at their request, we are constructing two new railroad viaducts on the same section: Pureva and Tamme.
The Tamme Viaduct is a familiar project for Maru Betoonitööd—it is essentially a tunnel-type traffic opening on the Rail Baltica route. The structure requires > 400 m³ of concrete, 1,000 m² of formwork, and approximately 50 metric tons of rebar.
Pureva – Maru: The longest and most unique railway viaduct built by Maru Concrete Works to date.
The Pureva Viaduct is special in many ways. For us, it is the first true railway viaduct on which Edelaraudtee trains will run across the main Rail Baltica route—making it a railway viaduct that crosses another railway line. The structure is the longest viaduct Maru Betoonitööd has built to date: 105 meters long, with over 1,100 m³ of concrete, nearly 3,000 m² of formwork, and approximately 200 metric tons of rebar. We began work in August, and the pouring of the viaduct’s top deck slab is scheduled for the end of November.
