Traffic arrangements during construction of the Imatrankoskentie railway bridge

The traffic arrangements during construction of the Imatrankoskentie railway bridge have caused a lot of discussion.

According to Ramboll Oy's 2019 traffic model, the average daily traffic of the Imatrankoskentie bridge is approximately 3 vehicles and Kuparintie 500 vehicles. The average daily traffic of Vuoksentie is approximately 100 vehicles.

Kuparintie is not suitable for large volumes of traffic

Without the driving ban, Kuparintie would have many times the amount of traffic compared to the normal situation.

- Detour traffic through Kuparintie would cause a safety risk not only for the residents of the area, but also for motorists and especially for pedestrians and cyclists traveling on Kuparintie, says the city's traffic planner Kaisa Pohjola.

With the arrival of winter, the traffic safety risks of Kuparintie increase and the inadequacy of the road for larger volumes of traffic and different modes of transportation is highlighted.

- At the settlement, Kuparintie has not undergone a basic improvement, which is why the condition of the road cannot withstand larger volumes of traffic. Due to winter maintenance, the speed bumps on Kuparintie must be removed for the winter, which contributes to the insecurity of commuters on Kuparintie, Pohjola continues.

The safety of Vuoksentie near the Koski school center

The parents of the Koski school center have expressed their concern about the safety risk caused by the increased traffic at the school.

- The concern is understandable, because the risks always increase when traffic volumes increase. The traffic volumes on Vuoksentie are accentuated in the morning and in the evening, when there is both commuter traffic and student escort traffic on the road. However, Vuoksentie is a regional main street whose traffic volume is sufficient for safe traffic even during increased traffic. Vuoksentie's visibility, width, condition, separation of modes of transport and crosswalks are sized for higher traffic volumes, Pohjola explains. 

Based on the information provided by the speed limit screen placed on Vuoksentie, the speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour is observed on the road. Minor speeding violations took place in the evening and night time. 

- Overall, I estimate that the current traffic arrangements on Vuoksentie do not pose any traffic safety risks that differ from normal urban environments, states Pohjola.

Route alternatives have been examined from the perspective of motorists

Linnakoskenkatu detour compared to Kuparintieh increases the distance by about three kilometers, which means about five minutes by car. 
On the other hand, when leaving Saareksiinmäki, the detour using Highway 6 increases the length of the trip by about a third, but does not slow down the travel time.

- We ask motorists to be patient and pay special attention to traffic safety. Fortunately, the construction site does not burden cyclists and those who walk a lot. That also helps to cope when you remember that the situation is temporary, Kaisa Pohjola reminds.

For more information:

Traffic planner Kaisa Pohjola, kaisa. pohjolaimatra.fi (kaisa[dot]pohjola[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 020 617 4424