On 26 May 2026, the City Planning and Infrastructure Services Committee approved an alternative for further planning, with a separated bikeway and sidewalk on the northern side and two lanes on the western side.
Two options were studied in the master planning. Option A (1+1) had one direct lane in both directions and Option B (2+1) had two direct lanes in the westbound direction and one in the eastbound direction. Now, a combination of A+B (2+1) was chosen as the basis for further planning.
The key objective of the general plan is to improve the conditions for sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling and public transport, while at the same time ensuring the smooth flow and functionality of motorised traffic.
The aim is to preserve the valuable trees in the planning area and to increase the amount of greenery in the streets. Particularly valuable trees are located on the southern side of Kalevantie between Kanslerinrinne and Yliopistonkatu.
The structural condition of the Sorinahde overpass, the Sorinsilta, requires replacement. The height of the bridge will have to be raised by 0.50–1.00 m to accommodate the track. The general plan has been prepared and coordinated with the design of the north deck and the Sorinahde overpass so that the north deck can be constructed either before or after the replacement of the Sorinahde overpass.
The Kalevantie, located in the city centre and on the Kalevanharju, is a major entry road to the city centre from the east, a major component of the urban structure and part of the city centre's traffic circle.
The general plan was drawn up as part of the transportation planning for the local detailed plans for the residential districts. One of the objectives of the detailed planning is to provide a new pedestrian link from the railway station to the Nokia Arena. The general plan was used to determine the space requirements for the street area to be extended northwards in the local detailed plan and to ensure the feasibility of a new pedestrian crossing at Sorinsilta.
In the discussions in the City Planning and Infrastructure Services Committee, it was considered important to maintain two lanes on Sorinsilta in the western direction and to allow for a separated bikeway and sidewalk on the northern edge also on the section between Sumeliuksenkadun and Yliopistonkatu. These objectives can be achieved by combining options A and B.
The chosen combination option A+B provides one eastbound and two westbound lanes over the entire design section. The second eastbound lane is removed between Kanslerinrinteen and Yliopistonkatu, and the Sumeliuksenkatu junction becomes one-way northbound. At the Sorinkatu and Rautatienkatu intersections, the existing lane arrangements will be maintained, with separate turning lanes for Kanslerinrinne and Yliopistonkatu.
The plan will improve the bus stops at University (Yliopisto) A and C and their surroundings to meet the requirements of the quality public transport corridor, the growing number of boardings and the plusbus (lines 7 and 8). The stop on the south side will have a bus stop extension and the stop on the north side will be a carriageway stop.
The level of service at bus stops will be significantly improved. The bus stop waiting areas will be separated from the pedestrian and cycle lanes and the new layout and shape of the bus stops will allow superbuses to stop at the bus stops. The development of pedestrian and cycle paths will improve the accessibility of the stops.
A new crosswalk will be built on the Sorinsilta between the North and South decks. The sidewalk on the southern edge of the Sorinsilta will be widened to 4.25 m to cope with the pedestrian volume generated by the discharge of events at the Nokia Arena.
The main regional cycle route along Kalevantie will be modified and developed. The main route will be relocated to the northern side of Sorinsilta, where a two-way bikeway and a separated sidewalk will be created from Rautatienkatu to Yliopistonkatu. The main regional cycling route will switch sides at the Kanslerinrinne junction and the segregated path will continue on the south side until the Yliopistonkatu junction. The width of the bikeways will be 2.75–3 metres, with a minimum sidewalk width of 2.5 metres on the northern side and 1.7–2.25 metres on the southern side.
Once the general plan has been approved, road design will be launched, including the section between Yliopistonkatu and Sairaalankatu. The section between Yliopistonkatu and Sairaalankatu will be the subject of a general plan before the road design. Planning this section in parallel with the further planning of the section currently under consideration will allow for a coherent road solution for the section between the Kalevantie junction bridge and the Sorinsilta bridge, which will be renovated in the next few years.
Further planning will also include refining the street solutions to be compatible with the Sorinahde bridge construction plan, especially at the eastern end of the bridge, the arrangements for the new Sorinsilta pedestrian crossing, the pedestrian and cycle arrangements between Kanslerinrinne and Sumeliuksenkatu, the arrangements for Sumeliuksenkatu and the sizing of bus stops as the superbus line design progresses, and ensuring that important trees can be preserved.
The total cost of the project, including risk provisioning, is around €2.10 million, excluding the Sorinahde overpass. The cost estimate will also be refined during further planning.
