Moscow Ring Road

For road in Minsk, see MKAD (Minsk).

MKAD on Moscow map

MKAD interchange with M2

MKAD near Strogino District

MKAD interchange with Profsouznaia street

The Moscow Automobile Ring Road ([Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога, Moskovskaya Koltsevaya Avtomobilnaya Doroga] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), or MKAD (МКАД), is a ring road encircling the City of Moscow.

The growth of traffic in and around Moscow in the 1950s made the city planners realise Russia's largest metropolis needed a bypass to redirect incoming traffic from major roads that run through the city. Opened in 1961, the MKAD had four lanes of asphalt running 108.9 kilometres along the city borders. Although not yet a freeway, it featured interchanges at major junctions, very few traffic lights and a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph).

For a long time the MKAD served as the administrative boundary of Moscow city, until in the 1980s Moscow started annexing territory outside the beltway. In December 2002 Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo became the first Moscow Metro station that opened beyond the limits of MKAD.

In 1995-1997 the road was widened from the initial four to ten lanes, while all intersections became grade-separated, bridges were built to accommodate pedestrians, traffic lights were removed, and a solid concrete barrier was installed in the median. In 2001 all slow-moving vehicles were banned from entering the MKAD and the renovated road received a freeway designation from the mayor's office.

See also

Ring roads in Moscow:

• Garden Ring
• Boulevard Ring
• Third Ring Road

Comparison to other ring roads encircling big cities:

• London Orbital motorway
• Washington, DC Beltway
• A23 in Vienna
• A4 in Paris
• Saint Petersburg Ring Road

Portal:

External links

• The MKAD on Google Maps.
• A view of the MKAD from a pedestrian bridge.
• A view of the MKAD from a helicopter.