The bridge over the River Pedele built last year by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), together with the adjoining forest road “Pedeles upes ceļš”, has been recognised in the “Latvijas Būvniecības Gada balva 2025” competition in the new engineering structure category. Modern timber structural solutions were used in building the bridge, reducing the amount of concrete required.

The 13-metre-long bridge, which crosses the River Pedele in Ērģeme parish, Valka municipality, was brought into service on 5 November 2025 and provides access both to managed forest areas and to berry- and mushroom-picking spots popular with local residents. The bridge beams supporting the reinforced concrete span structure and the safety barriers are made of timber. The timber building materials used in the bridge are made of glued laminated timber (GLULAM), thanks to which the structures weigh roughly five times less than concrete beams of identical size and volume, while being equally strong.

In total, 28.44 cubic metres of timber were used to build the bridge — an amount that grows in Latvia's forests in about 36 seconds.

Alongside the bridge, a new forest road just under a kilometre long was also built, linking the overall forest road network on both sides of the river. The new integrated engineering structure provides access to the entire forest tract and ensures optimal transport of timber from it.

This year a total of 130 projects were entered for the Latvijas Būvniecības Gada balva, representing various Latvian towns and rural areas.

Last year the competition gave particularly high praise to the new LVM Rietumvidzeme region customer centre in Valmiermuiža, awarding the modern timber building the top “Grand Prix” accolade. More than 400 m³ of timber materials were used in its construction. Producing such a quantity requires about 1200 m³ of wood, which grows in Latvia's forests in roughly 25 minutes on average, absorbing around 1200 tonnes of carbon dioxide as it grows.