RIGA — Work on the much-maligned “Southern Bridge” in Riga, which has become a symbol of bureaucratic incompetence in Latvia, will soon cease as budget funds for further construction have dried up.

The daily Diena reported Monday that many of the 50 workers remaining on the project will pack up their things and head home in the next couple weeks. “We’re getting our tools together and leaving, there’s nothing for us to do here,” said Albins Jasaitis, head of Rīgas Tilti, one of several construction firms still involved in the project.

Riga’s City Council dispersed [private_supervisor]1.2 million lats (€1.7 million) for bridge work this year, which is insufficient to continue construction throughout the 12-month period, Diena reported. In December the city passed a budget calling for some 8.5 million lats to be spend on further bridgework.

Anna Kononova, spokeswoman for Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, said that the Southern Bridge project would be frozen until better times.

Though the bridge, which started in 2004, was completed in November 2008, it still lacks a number of on- and off-ramps that, according to the original plan, would help reduce congestion on Riga streets during rush hours.

News that the bridge would be mothballed did not come as a surprise to Rigans, who are well aware that Latvia’s capital is broke. By now more bad news concerning the “bridge to nowhere,” so-called because it lacks the designated ramps, is considered par for the course.

The Southern Bridge was built during Latvia’s boom years and has come to symbolize all-around incompetence, official corruption and shoddy construction in the minds of many Latvians. Local media has tagged it “the most expensive bridge in Europe,” though no one has yet to produce a study of all new bridges on the continent to back the claim.

The State Auditor’s Office, in its report last year, said that as a result of bad management costs for the bridge soared from 108 million to 570 million lats (€152 million to €806 million). Auditors said the financial model for the project was poorly chosen, leading to a 87 percent jump in original costs, while another 27 million lats (€38 million) was wasted on “economically unfounded construction costs increases.”

Latvia’s interior ministry said in April last year that investigators launched a criminal probe into the Southern Bridge’s construction. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]1.2 million lats (€1.7 million) for bridge work this year, which is insufficient to continue construction throughout the 12-month period, Diena reported. In December the city passed a budget calling for some 8.5 million lats to be spend on further bridgework.

Anna Kononova, spokeswoman for Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, said that the Southern Bridge project would be frozen until better times.

Though the bridge, which started in 2004, was completed in November 2008, it still lacks a number of on- and off-ramps that, according to the original plan, would help reduce congestion on Riga streets during rush hours.

News that the bridge would be mothballed did not come as a surprise to Rigans, who are well aware that Latvia’s capital is broke. By now more bad news concerning the “bridge to nowhere,” so-called because it lacks the designated ramps, is considered par for the course.

The Southern Bridge was built during Latvia’s boom years and has come to symbolize all-around incompetence, official corruption and shoddy construction in the minds of many Latvians. Local media has tagged it “the most expensive bridge in Europe,” though no one has yet to produce a study of all new bridges on the continent to back the claim.

The State Auditor’s Office, in its report last year, said that as a result of bad management costs for the bridge soared from 108 million to 570 million lats (€152 million to €806 million). Auditors said the financial model for the project was poorly chosen, leading to a 87 percent jump in original costs, while another 27 million lats (€38 million) was wasted on “economically unfounded construction costs increases.”

Latvia’s interior ministry said in April last year that investigators launched a criminal probe into the Southern Bridge’s construction. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]1.2 million lats (€1.7 million) for bridge work this year, which is insufficient to continue construction throughout the 12-month period, Diena reported. In December the city passed a budget calling for some 8.5 million lats to be spend on further bridgework.

Anna Kononova, spokeswoman for Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, said that the Southern Bridge project would be frozen until better times.

Though the bridge, which started in 2004, was completed in November 2008, it still lacks a number of on- and off-ramps that, according to the original plan, would help reduce congestion on Riga streets during rush hours.

News that the bridge would be mothballed did not come as a surprise to Rigans, who are well aware that Latvia’s capital is broke. By now more bad news concerning the “bridge to nowhere,” so-called because it lacks the designated ramps, is considered par for the course.

The Southern Bridge was built during Latvia’s boom years and has come to symbolize all-around incompetence, official corruption and shoddy construction in the minds of many Latvians. Local media has tagged it “the most expensive bridge in Europe,” though no one has yet to produce a study of all new bridges on the continent to back the claim.

The State Auditor’s Office, in its report last year, said that as a result of bad management costs for the bridge soared from 108 million to 570 million lats (€152 million to €806 million). Auditors said the financial model for the project was poorly chosen, leading to a 87 percent jump in original costs, while another 27 million lats (€38 million) was wasted on “economically unfounded construction costs increases.”

Latvia’s interior ministry said in April last year that investigators launched a criminal probe into the Southern Bridge’s construction. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]1.2 million lats (€1.7 million) for bridge work this year, which is insufficient to continue construction throughout the 12-month period, Diena reported. In December the city passed a budget calling for some 8.5 million lats to be spend on further bridgework.

Anna Kononova, spokeswoman for Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, said that the Southern Bridge project would be frozen until better times.

Though the bridge, which started in 2004, was completed in November 2008, it still lacks a number of on- and off-ramps that, according to the original plan, would help reduce congestion on Riga streets during rush hours.

News that the bridge would be mothballed did not come as a surprise to Rigans, who are well aware that Latvia’s capital is broke. By now more bad news concerning the “bridge to nowhere,” so-called because it lacks the designated ramps, is considered par for the course.

The Southern Bridge was built during Latvia’s boom years and has come to symbolize all-around incompetence, official corruption and shoddy construction in the minds of many Latvians. Local media has tagged it “the most expensive bridge in Europe,” though no one has yet to produce a study of all new bridges on the continent to back the claim.

The State Auditor’s Office, in its report last year, said that as a result of bad management costs for the bridge soared from 108 million to 570 million lats (€152 million to €806 million). Auditors said the financial model for the project was poorly chosen, leading to a 87 percent jump in original costs, while another 27 million lats (€38 million) was wasted on “economically unfounded construction costs increases.”

Latvia’s interior ministry said in April last year that investigators launched a criminal probe into the Southern Bridge’s construction. [/private_subscription 1 year]

— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.