VILNIUS, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The second-to-last section of the Via Baltica highway, connecting Lithuania's southern town of Marijampole to the Polish border, was reopened on Friday following a upgrade.

According to the Lithuanian Transport Ministry, the 16-km stretch near Marijampole is "the longest and most technically challenging part of the project."

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis attended the opening ceremony, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported.

Simonyte described the project as one of the final steps in fully integrating Lithuania into the broader Western European transport network.

The final segment of the motorway, connecting the Lithuanian-Polish border with the Suwalki Gap, is set to be completed next year, with construction on that portion having begun in June 2023.

"Once the last section is completed, we will be able to drive from Vilnius all the way to Brussels on motorways," said Marius Vascega, head of the European Commission Representation in Lithuania.

The entire upgrade project spans more than 40 km of the Via Baltica highway, stretching from Marijampole to the Polish border.

Via Baltica is a critical trans-European network road, forming part of the European route E67. It covers approximately 970 km, starting in Warsaw, Poland, and passing through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, before ending in Tallinn. Of the total route, 269 km are located within Lithuania.

The section of Via Baltica between Marijampole and the Polish border is one of the busiest in Lithuania, with nearly 14,000 vehicles traveling the route daily, half of which are freight transport. Enditem

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