On April 14, 2021, a geotechnical site investigation in the river Pärnu will be commenced as part of the design of the new Rail Baltica railway bridge. These investigations are a prerequisite for defining a safe and optimal foundation design. Works will last for approximately two weeks and the aim is to define the geotechnical characteristics of the soil layers beneath the Pärnu riverbed.

“For the geotechnical investigations, two boreholes are made at the bottom of the river Pärnu to identify the geotechnical characteristics of soil layers beneath the river's base,” explained RB Rail AS project manager Kaur Laansalu. “These investigations are a prerequisite for defining a safe and optimal foundation design for the future Rail Baltic Pärnu river railway bridge.”

Investigations will be carried out from the existing Papiniidu railway bridge. To carry out the works, steel casing sleeves will be taken from the top of the existing Papiniidu railway bridge to riverbed at both side spans. The steel casing sleeves will be located approximately 5 m from the existing bridge piers and will be marked with boats equipped with signaling lights.

The works will be carried out by the Spanish geotechnical company GEOPROVI, Geotecnia y Sondeos, SL and Geostand A.E.

Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS has signed a design and author's supervision agreement for the design of the Rail Baltica railway for the section from Tootsi to Ikla with the consortium Obermeyer Planen + Beraten GmbH (Germany) and Prointec S.A (Spain).

Obermeyer Planen + Beraten GmbH is a global design and consulting firm providing design and engineering services for building construction, transportation facilities as well as in the energy and the environment sector. The company was founded in 1958. Today it is a company one of Germany's leading independent engineering firms.

PROINTEC S.A. was founded in 1970 and is engaged in infrastructure design, architectural consultancy as well as urban planning and environment sector. In the railway sector, PROINTEC S.A. has extensive experience in creating design solutions for regular and high-speed railways, as well as tram and underground metro systems.