DESCRIPTION OF ROADS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500440241-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 4, 2005
• Sequence Number: 241
• Publication Date: April 5, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

App
roved For Re ease 2005/ /17 : CIA-RDP80-00809A0005004~40241-3
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COUNTRY USSR (E
SUBJECT Descrip
tonia/Latvia)
ion of Roads
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DATE D I STR. S ,4 $gL
AFO IS,. or T.t U.S. CoOS, I.11 .nt.oto. ITt T.I..
1.10. or ITt CO.TC.Ti TO OS .ICLI.T tT A. un.ut
Estonian highways were
ere~re maintained by the
"
wz,th coarse 'rushed roc
for hea, traffic . A F
structio nd maintenarcc of the pr
way. Ma~y of the roads were not tr,
they were in rattier bar condition,
cobble aEL~rina,. Tn aenc.ral they war
C (NP DDENTIAL.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
built for la
ght horse traffic only, and before 1920
gravelling twice a year. They were pre-
d.Iminant
y gravel road: with a sma
but this 'requirement wals'not always
Estonian iighvays consisted of hoi sl
persons unfamiliar with Estonia toll
crossroad and turnoffs were proTri di
e quite crooked. During' the period 1920-25
afficable for heavy motor vehicles in the
925 when the government took overlthe con-
itwh'cb was rolled or driven in, forming a stronger base
ermanent: cross slope was provided by',graders. This
s', dry in the wet season. The crooked portions were
d', bridges wee replaced with new reinforced concrete
25 ton load''. All of the more important highways were
he use of nn ow shields and plows. However, gravel re-
surface, since light motor traffic did not justify the
ve con^.r'tel or asphall. surfaces, and, cheaper bituminous
used duc to he existence of horse-drawn traffic, which
ype of s?irf.a.e. Asphalt surfacing (mostly bituminous
proaches t.cllarger cities, and on highways through cities.
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presided v h international traffic signs, and turnoffs
t'class leer) , and the more important second class roads,
nage ditches where i>.ecessary. Important highways were
marked with wooden postlsin summer:nd wooden poles in winter. Less important
roads wer may :ed with 1tree branch~3 in the winter. In wooded areas the forest
wa's suppo ed to be remo, Cd for at t?ast eight meters from the edge of the road,
stsaighte'ned and the of
bridges b~uiit for a 15 -
ket clear of snow by t
maimed the predominant
coostrt:ction of expensi
surfacing could not be
rapidly destroys this t
macadam) bras used on of
All state highways were,
vi place nams, Fire
wexe provided with drat
PI SUBJECT & AREA CODES
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('ON ,'i+I)ENTIAL'
DI5TRI0UTICN ? STAf ARMY NAVY _._IAIA .T fel on EV
This report Is for the use wttt In the USA ate he Intelligence components of :he Departments or
Agencies Indicated above. It sl not to he tiansmitted overseas without the concurrence of the
orlgnattng office through the Assistant D!?ectbr of the Offlce_of Collection and Dissemination, CIA.
-drawn vehicles. It was not ',lifficult for
rient themselves on the highways since
d with road. names,.
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CONFM'
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5.
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4. The first class highway Tallinn- JAMIA'A
r con t-..ns n the wet eh on.:
3. Technically, Estonia, highways w re divided into three categories:
(a) First class highways connec~? rcg major cities (county or district: enters).
Their total width wallei,ht mete;,with a six-met-r travelled way and Et one-
meter shcuider on each side.
(b) Se, ord class hig~~~waya coo J~ing smaller cities. These bad a tot 1 width
of six meters, with a 4.5 meter {{'ave11ed, way and shoulders 0.75 meters wide.
(c) Third class road6, designed tc~handle local traffic. The above-mentioned
widths were required for new roadg oriimproved portions. In some cases the old
roads were narrower than the classstaudards. Only the travelled ways ere
paved, the shoulders 're gravell d. On gravel roads there was no surf1ce
difference between the travelled ay and the shoulders, but base rock w pro-
vided on the travelle, way only. First class reads were usually built a. some
embankment in wet areas, and there fore;ere better drained and more ind pendent
of weathr di +, i
II -
pe on
the driveway. Therefore ruts showed uplin the wet season maki it unf t for
motor vehicles. Marjarttaa and Raplti'were'not large centers and therefore the
road was of secondary importance.
6. Since Paldiski had ueelIlmade into an important USSR naval and submarine ase,
a project was initiatedIin lc)40 tc re is tt pi
ee
ld
-- ,- 1 -~ r- i+wu ue.u 'Ibrpag^tienea aria proviriea with base rock. From
Tallinn to the turnoffifcr Haapsal.4.i the Toad was made virtually straigh with
a total width of ten meters, and seven-meter travelled way (an exec ton). It
had a bituminous macadam travelled way through Marjamaa and J i and for
five kilometers on the,~approach t Pdr'nu. (The straightened s tions h e not
been so marked on the aps in "Ee.~ i Maanteede Kaart, 1938," an officio) book
of Estonian road maps)!.! The subs:) 1 c'. this road was good and there wa some
embankment on most of the road, wh ch made snow rem-sal easy.
ama
The second class road Rapla-1rarj a * ::fairly good alignment; from Rapla to Koikse
Liz7, and had a cobble pavement. ! It: Sias on a low emben nt but was ~?~i.te
narrow (less than six meters). F' m Kaikse to Argita Zi there was nd embankment,
it was ton low in wet places, and t was difficult to make a cross I-
re o
e
narrow and crooked rod to
the town. The new roadlbetween Keila andPaldiski generally followed th old
one but it had longer straight sectlions and smoother curves. From Keila east
it rener'.11v hollowed the second class !road and Joined the Tallinn-PPlrnu ighway at
Jalgimae Li Phi read was to have ;a seven-meter asphalt macadam tra' )led
way on base rock, with 1.5 meter gr ve11ed shoulders. The construction d the
JE11rtinr-Keila part was started inlthespring of 1941 but was interrupted) in July
by World War II. Preliminary survr~s were also made in 1940 for the extension
o?i this rcad from Jdl i e to the Tallinn-ftarva highway. thu
7. A preliminary survey was made in 1x40 for' the Tallinn-Johvi -Nary,.-Leningrad
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8, Main highways generally did not pass thrCugh swampy areas, but tr,=nt aroun
them on mineral soil. In exceptiogal cases the old reads had b,:-'?n built on
higher embankments, theiweight of which had compressed. the swampy uoil, oI
had pressed it away from under the embankment. On new ports of highways the
swampy soil was replace.iwith mineriai soul?
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9. Estonian highways satts;;ied. the req irements of light Estonian motor traf. c.
However, the situation changed in 1J41 vh',n the Germans occupied Estonia nd
the highways had to supply the northeastern part of the German front. Th
following roads were the) principal upplyl routes:
(a) The old Czarist Russian army road fro~ Pskov to Riga completed at the be-
ginning of World War I. Th s oad., 4rhiehwent t o h the southeastern corner
of Estonia via Pankjavit.ea Lai and Mae,Marati ZeiV, Latvia, was of no i'' ortance to
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 Approved For Release 2005/08/17 : CIA
CON!IDENTIAIF
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Estonia and was considered Fl second class highway. It' s built for horde-
drawn traffic and was fairly broad (more than two lanes). It had water-'bound
macadam paving without base rock. It was ).cw in some places and occasio ally
showed frost heaves and cracks, but Ilit served the German front, with
out interruption. It was provided with permanent work crews to patch then
25X1 paving, as were all militarily important highways. It was called a' "rollbahn"
by the Germans, and was kept clear of snow lin .Tinter.
(b) The Valga-Tartu-Maarja Magdalena-TormalMustvee-Johvi-Narva first class
highway. This was a predominantly gravelled road whichwas cleared in winter.
It showed some frost damage north of Lake P'eipus, between Ranna _rmgerja_and
25X1 Sglliku (low), and between Konju and Sillamde, near Narva Bay. Othelrwise'JI
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(c) The Talinn-Paide-Poltsamaa-Tartu first lclass highway. This too was pre-
dominantly gravelled and was' kept clear in winter. There were no major diffi-
culties.
(d) The Tallinn-Haapsalu first class highway. Also cleared in winter and with-
out major difficulties.
(e) The Ribti Virtau-Kuresaere first class highway. Also cleared in winter
and without major difficulties. (In summer through traffic used ferries and in
winter went over the ice). 1'
(f) The Tallinn-Msrjamaa-Pdrnu-Uulu first class, and the Uulu-Tahkuranna Ikla
Riga second class highway. Also cleared inl winter and without major; difficulties.
The latter road passes through a more wooded area.
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10. The other Estonian highways were not considered strategically important byjthe
Germans. They were used in the summer, but~were not cleared in winter when
there was heavy snow. Good gravel was available in most parts of Estonia. !Where
it was not available, crushed rock replacedl it. Under the Germans gasoline for
maintenance work was in short supply, but those gravel roads which were leapt up
were able to handle above-average traffic loads. Bridge' were strong enough for
the heaviest tanks, but most of them were destroyed by the retreating Germans.
11, In general the maximum grade', allowed on first and second class highways wae,
five per cent, but there were some exceptions in the hilly southern part of
Estonia. The cross slope on gravel roads was four per cnt. Onesided slope
and superelevation was provided on sharp curves. Improved gravel roads were
generally considered satisfactory for a total load of up lto four hundred tone
in twenty-four hours. On gravel roads with base rock this figure was in some
cases six hundred tons. With heavy trafficla good-sized )stock of road con''-1i'
and maintenance equipment is necessary, such as stonecruehers,
graders, trucks, snowplows, etc, as well aslample fuel oil and permanent work
crews.
12. Latvian highways were generally similar to thooe in Estonia. Most roads are
gravelled, Pwith some water-bound macadam (called sole a) and cobble paving
(calletra:d i). Hard surfaced roads were not economically justified by the
light ff:l:c-.
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CONFIDENTIAL
RDP80-0080 A000500440241
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