Summary
Northern Europe’s deep cold has turned part of the Baltic Sea region into a temporary roadway, with Estonia officials opening an ice road meant to connect the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. The Associated Press reported that the 20-kilometer route opened on Sunday after cars began lining up to use it that afternoon.
Saaremaa and Hiiumaa sit in western Estonia between the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga. For residents, the crossing offers a crucial link for routine trips: people on the smaller island of Hiiumaa, with a population of about 9,000, travel to Saaremaa, home to about 31,000, for shopping, for a cup of coffee, and to drop children off at school.
Estonian authorities decided to open the ice road after locals had started driving across the frozen sea themselves, exposing them to what officials described as serious risks. The same conditions disrupted ferry service, which had struggled to keep regular routes as temperatures fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius for weeks.
Mayor Hergo Tasuja of Hiiumaa said the ice road reflected more than convenience. He told The Associated Press that “part of our culture” is going to the sea, describing how local people swim and use boats in summer and, “in winter,” it is “in their blood to go to the sea” and step out on the ice.
The road itself is a marked corridor on the frozen sea, prepared after specialists determined the ice is thick enough to carry the weight of cars. But, according to the report, building and maintaining such a route is technically demanding: workers measure ice thickness every 100 meters to identify safer areas, and they also smooth over ridged ice and cracks.
A safety team monitors the route around the clock and can amend it based on changing conditions and the solidity of the ice. The rules for using the crossing are similarly strict. The Associated Press reported that a vehicle cannot weigh more than 2.5 tons and must drive either below 20 kph or between 40 and 70 kph, because speeds in between can create a vibration that damages the ice.
The report also said cars are not allowed to stop and must keep a safe distance from one another. Passengers are not permitted to wear seat belts, and doors must be easy to open so people can exit quickly if an accident occurs.
Marek Koppel, a road maintenance supervisor at Verston Eesti, the company contracted to build and manage the ice roads, said weather conditions and the route’s engineering constraints are part of why the road cannot be treated like an ordinary stretch of winter travel. Another resident, Alexei Ulyvanov, described the crossing as manageable, saying the road “was pretty good” and that he traveled from Tallinn to show his children “that it’s possible to ride a car over the sea.”
Tasuja said an ice road connecting the islands was last used about eight years ago, when winters had been too warm for one to operate. He also noted that Verston Eesti was contracted this week to open two more ice routes, this time connecting mainland Estonia to two smaller islands.