Glass-covered Skanste Park now poses a safety risk
In the heart of Riga, the city's much-anticipated Skanstes Park has faced a setback in its second phase of construction. The project, which cost over €21 million during its initial phase and was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the state budget, and the Riga City Council budget, has encountered a significant obstacle.
According to Dagnis Samausks, Head of the Project Management Administration of the Riga City Council's City Development Department, the delay in the second phase is due to the risk of subsidence up to approximately 80 cm. This unfortunate circumstance means that the second phase will have to wait 5-7 years for the soil to settle naturally.
To address this issue, a potential solution involves bringing in soil, compacting it, and drilling holes in the ground, with liquid removal under pressure. This method, if implemented, could help mitigate the risk of subsidence and pave the way for the park's completion.
However, this solution comes with additional costs, as acknowledged by project stakeholders. The delay is expected to increase the project's overall expenses, adding to the financial burden already shouldered by the city and its funding partners.
In light of these challenges, it's clear that timely, potentially unpopular decisions could have benefited the project in terms of deadlines and costs. This sentiment was echoed by project advisor Belkovskis, who emphasised the importance of learning from past mistakes to make better decisions in the future.
Unfortunately, the search results do not provide information about any person who made delayed decisions that led to the avoidable failure of the park's second construction phase. However, it's crucial to note that the presence of glass during construction, acknowledged by Samausks, has also contributed to the delays and additional cleaning requirements in the future.
Preventive cleaning was carried out to remedy the glass contamination discovered during construction, and the builder has promised to collect all the glass by 31 May. Despite these efforts, the park's second phase remains on hold, underscoring the complexities and uncertainties that can arise in large-scale urban development projects.
Despite these challenges, it's important to remember that the first phase of the project was awarded the Latvian Construction Industry Award, a testament to the quality and potential of the park when completed. As the city and its partners navigate the current obstacles, they remain hopeful for a successful resolution and the completion of Skanstes Park.
