Parking area for eastbound trucks to cost over EUR 24 million

Asphalt field for thousand truck-trailer combinations would cover 24 hectares

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According to a feasibility study, the planned parking area for eastbound trucks heading to Russia would cost more than EUR 24 million. In all, some 45 hectares of land would be required, of which an asphalt field for a thousand truck-trailer combinations would cover 24 hectares.
      The rest would be needed for lanes between parked trucks, as well as for access roads and service areas for drivers.
     
A working group on cross-border traffic set up by the Ministry of Transport and Communications proposed in December that two large waiting areas should be built close to the eastern border where trucks could wait for their access to the Customs.
      The waiting areas would accommodate some 1,000 trucks in Vaalimaa and another 500 in Nuijamaa. Initially, the total costs for the two waiting areas were estimated at EUR 23 million, which is reported to imply that the costs for the Vaalimaa truck stop indicated in the feasibility study have been overestimated.
     
The location of the Vaalimaa parking lot has been investigated by consulting firm Ramboll Finland Oy, operating under the mandate of the Finnish Road Administration's Southeastern Road Region.
      The consultants found six potential places for a truck parking lot along Motorway E18, of which the steering group of the project chose the one next to the Vaalimaa border crossing station.
      The Customs, the Border Guard, and the police would all be satisfied with the area, because the directing of trucks from there to the waiting area and further to the Customs would go most smoothly and would require just a minimum of supervision and workforce.
     
According to the steering group, the area close to the border crossing station is large enough and at a short distance from the present highway. In the future, if the motorway is extended until the border, the proposed parking lot would not require separate access roads unlike the other alternatives.
      In Vaalimaa the infrastructure is available, and the soil is "fairly favourable", as the ground has to be as level as possible in order that the trucks can start off even in bad weather.
      In the future, the area would easily be put to another use, if the heavy volume of truck traffic comes to an end. Currently, it is estimated that Finland will benefit from eastbound transit traffic for another five to ten years.
     
Undesirable phenomena
such as illegal trade and prostitution would also be easier to control in the immediate vicinity of the border control station. In order to prevent trespassing the planned truck parking lot is proposed to be surrounded by a fence.
      Preparing for catastrophes, the parking of trucks should be arranged so that firefighting vehicles have access to every truck. In Vaalimaa, a rescue station is already nearby.
      The planned service area would include dining and cooking facilities, toilets and showers, as well as data communications services, and an information desk run by the Finnish Road Administration.
     
The Vaalimaa feasibility study is being circulated for comments. The aim is to introduce the new truck parking area in the summer or autumn of 2008.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Large parking areas proposed for eastbound trucks on Russian border (12.12.2006)
  Ministry of Transport and Communications considering tolls for road users (25.1.2007)

Links:
  Finnish Road Administration

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