Demolition of Former Commercial Building to Alter Traffic Arrangements at the Nortamonkatu and Karjalankatu Intersection Starting in Mid-October
News
The exterior demolition of the former commercial building located at the intersection of Nortamonkatu and Karjalankatu will begin in week 40. The work will start from the courtyard side of the building. The property will be fenced off in week 43, resulting in temporary changes to pedestrian and cycling routes in the area. Vehicle traffic is expected to remain unaffected throughout the demolition project. The project is scheduled for completion by February 2027 at the latest.
The building to be demolished previously served as a commercial property and housed, among others, Anttila and Sokos. Demolition works, which began in April 2026, started with interior demolition, but the exterior demolition was postponed until autumn due to birds nesting on the roof of the building.
– Protected Eurasian oystercatchers and gulls were nesting on the roof, which meant that the progress of the work had to be planned around the nesting season. The interior demolition was carried out as planned without disturbing the birds. Now that the nesting season has ended, we can proceed to the next phase of the demolition project, says Operations Manager Pekka Yli-Kauhaluoma.
How Pedestrian and Cycling Routes Will Be Redirected During the Construction Site
During the demolition work, the changes will primarily affect pedestrians and cyclists. Temporary traffic arrangements will be in place from week 43 until the completion of the site.
The pedestrian and cycling route on the K-Citymarket side, as well as the cycle paths surrounding the building to be demolished, will be temporarily closed for the duration of the demolition work. Pedestrians and cyclists travelling towards Karjalankatu will be directed to the opposite side of the road. The route will cross over at the intersection of Karjalankatu and Luoteisväylä, at the traffic lights located next to the Neste service station.
Pedestrian and cycling traffic between K-Citymarket and Hesburger will be redirected during the exterior demolition to the pedestrian and cycling route on the opposite side of Nortamonkatu.
No changes will be made to the operation of the traffic-light-controlled intersection of Nortamonkatu and Karjalankatu unless absolutely necessary. K-Citymarket will remain accessible by crossing the road at the demolition site.
– We aim to keep the traffic arrangements in place only for as long as necessary. However, the arrangements are expected to remain in place until close to the completion of the project. During the final phase, the cycle paths within the construction site’s area of impact will also be restored, says Site Manager Tomi Nieminen of Timantti-Nieminen Oy.
The building came into city ownership in spring 2025 and has been vacant since autumn 2025. The building is being demolished because it has seen little use and neither its maintenance nor major renovation can be justified economically. The future use of the area will be considered as part of the Rauma City Centre Vision 2050 project.
Updates on current traffic arrangements will also be provided through the contractor’s social media channels, @timantti.nieminen. The contractor for the project is Timantti-Nieminen Oy.
