Major highway projects are being planned in central Russia – image courtesy of © Serban Bogdan, Dreamstime.com
Several major construction projects for highways and bridges are planned for Russia by the state-owned road company Avtodor. Of note is that Russia has boosted its road building budget by US$2.73 billion, having sourced additional financing.
One of the important projects is for the construction of the M-12 highway, connecting Moscow with Kazan. The work is expected to cost around $8.7 billion to complete and should be ready for drivers in 2024, featuring a maximum speed limit of 130km/h. Just over $2 billion of the funding required is being supplied by the National Wealth Fund. When the highway is ready it will take around 6 ½ hours to drive between the two cities. One of the key structures along the highway will be the 3.4km bridge spanning the Volga River. This will feature a total of 28 support piers and will weigh around 45,000tonnes.
Meanwhile, a 1,600km highway is planned that will connect Yekaterinburg with Krasnodar. Construction is expected to commence in 2023 and around 50% of the route should be complete by 2030. Some of the funding required will be provided by the National Welfare Fund.
And a new road will connect Kislovodsk and Adler, linking the Caucasian Mineral Waters with the Black Sea coast at an estimated cost of $1.24 billion. In addition, a bypass will be built around Aksay in the Rostov Region at a cost of $232 million, with working starting in 2023.
