The Worst Road in Latvia

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Englishman in Latvia

Now I know much has been said about the poor condition of Latvian roads, but the road between Limbazi and Steine must be the worst. There is a section of it, approximately 7 kilometres, which ranks as the worst I have driven on any where in Latvia. This is not a really remote place. The roads in the rural areas around Dagda are like driving on glass compared to this. I have a six km drive on these roads every time I need to go to Limbazi and I have a headache by the time I get there. I can’t believe there are any worse than this, is there?

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10 Responses to The Worst Road in Latvia

  1. Spock says:
    July 3, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    You probably need to leave some pictures or a video so people can compare. The road situation overall is comparatively good this year due to the mild winter but there are a LOT of bad roads, Many are slalom courses over which it isn’t possible to drive faster than 20 or 30, but these are mostly, but not all, local roads.

    Count on replacing tires, suspension and steering elements two to three times more often than you would have in the U.K.

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  2. andrisbb says:
    July 4, 2014 at 2:06 am

    Wait for a next spring when show will melt and You will see something like this on all gravel roads.

    There not much that can be done about it.

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    • Spock says:
      July 5, 2014 at 10:05 am

      Andris’ video is excellent in that it is NOT an exaggeration. Not all gravel roads will be this bad, but some will be worse.

      Many asphalt roads that belong to some rural municipalities are also as bad or worse. Pothole after pothole has been patched over the years until little of the original road remains. Since Latvia typically has winters with alternate cycles of thaw/freeze, water gets into the patched areas and tears them up resulting in, progressively, larger and bigger and more potholes year after year.

      These are not just remote little used roads either. There is a short road that joins the A2 to P20 running right past a major tourist attraction, the 9th & 10th century Latgalian Araishu lake “fort” (it is actually referred to as a castle but…), also some neolithic (I think) settlement remains. Last spring this road could not be driven at more than 25 km and even then I ended up ruining two tires (sorry “tyres”). We joke that the road was left behind by the neolithic period settlers ;D

      Before radio and TV Latvians apparently spent their evening answering riddles. One asks “Patches upon patches, not a single stitch?” The answer used to be a cabbage but a more contemporary answer is the Latvian rouad system. my daughter decided.

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  3. kathryn townsley says:
    July 5, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    Hi Andrew and Inta,
    Writing on behalf of Pam and Gilbert. Have finally got round to showing them your blog and they wanted me to reply saying how interesting they are finding it. Pleased to hear the sale finally went through, is that a picture of your land on your cover photo? so pleased for you and sending you very best wishes.
    We will check in regularly!

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  4. Spock says:
    July 6, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    Since there is no other way to contact you, sending you this link this way. Sorry if I am muddying you pristine bolg ;D

    http://www.tvnet.lv/izklaide/notikumi/516916-video_plausanas_cempionata_specigas_ir_ari_damas

    I wish I had known about this before rather than after the event. Might have been interesting for you to attend but, even of only on video, you might find this interesting anyway…

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  5. Expat Eye says:
    July 11, 2014 at 12:54 am

    I tried to have a little nap between Majori and Riga today – JESUS. Every three seconds I almost hit the roof of the bus – definitely not the worst road, but for a kind of main road, it’s awful.

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