Moscow–Saint Petersburg motorway
| Moscow – Saint Petersburg motorway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Route information | |
| History | First portions to open in 2013 |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Moscow |
| West end | Saint Petersburg |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Highway system | |
The Moscow – Saint Petersburg motorway is a planned toll road between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The first section of the motorway is to be finished in 2013. The road will run parallel to the M10 highway. Its construction has been met with strong protest from environmental groups and residents' groups, mainly around the Khimki forest.[1]
Route
Its route is parallel to the M10 highway. It will start in Moscow, will run via Moscow Oblast (90 km), Tver Oblast (253 km), Novgorod Oblast (233 km), Leningrad Oblast (75 km) to its destination in Saint Petersburg.[2]
Characteristics
- Length = about 700 km
- Average speed = 150 km/h
- Number of interchanges = 32
- Number of overpasses = 167
- Number of bridges = 85
- Number of lanes = from 4 to 10
- Lane width = 3.75 m
- Shoulder width = 3.5 m
History
On July 27, 2009, "Severo-Zapadnaya Concessionnaya Kompaniya" (North-West Concession Company (NWCC)), a consortium comprising the VINCI company and other leaders signed a concession contract for the first section (15–58 km) of the motorway with the Federal Highway Agency of Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation (Rosavtodor), the grantor, in the presence of the Russian Minister of Transport, Mr Levitin. Total construction cost is estimated at approximately 1 billion Euros.[3]
On April 26, 2010, Vnesheconombank and Sberbank signed an agreement to grant "NWCC" a 29.2 billion rubles credit with the order to build the first section of the motorway.[4]
Later, on August 26, 2010, President Medvedev suspended the construction after the environmentalists' protests against the motorway's route through the Khimki Forest. According to his decision, additional public and expert discussions are to be carried out.[5][6]
On December 14, 2010 Russian government decided to continue the construction through the Khimki forest. Speaking in St Petersburg, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said new forest would be planted on a territory of 500ha to compensate cutting down about 100ha of the Khimki forest.[7]
Construction
According to the Head of Rosavtodor, Anatoliy Chabunin, the construction was to start in October 2010 and will be finished in three years.[8]
Environmental protests
The motorway is planned to go through Khimki Forest. Environmentalists say the forest is a unique ecosystem that is home to centuries-old oak trees and many species of wildlife.[6]
Various groups have opposed the motorway's construction. Protests have been held and these have frequently been broken up by the police, involving what some have considered to be police brutality. Some protesters have also been attacked and intimidated, and three journalists – Anatoliy Adamchuk from Zhukovskiye Vesti, Mikhail Beketov from Khimkinskaya Pravda and Oleg Kashin from Kommersant[1] – have been beaten up in what are thought[who?] to be attacks linked to their coverage of the protests.[9]
See also
References
- ^ a b Russia tries injured editor as fears for media grow, BBC
- ^ РИАНовости (RIANews) Будущая платная трасса Москва-Петербург (in Russian)
- ^ VINCI press release 27 July 2009
- ^ Vnesheconombank website news. On Financing the Project to Build a High-Speed Motorway Moscow-Saint-Petersburg
- ^ "Medvedev suspends disputed highway project". Russia Today. 2010-08-26.
- ^ a b "Medvedev suspends motorway project over forest concerns". BBC News. 2010-08-26.
- ^ "Khimki forest motorway to be built by Russia". BBC News. 2010-12-14.
- ^ Business New Europe. Construction of Moscow-St Pete toll road to start October.
- ^ Russian president vows action after reporters attacked, BBC