In 2024, the capital authorities promise to complete the formation of a new road frame

In 2024, the capital’s authorities will complete the formation of a “new road frame,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin promised. The 40-kilometer Southern Road connecting Rublyovka and Kapotnya will be completed, as well as the last section of the Moscow High-Speed ​​Diameter (MSD), which will provide a new exit from the city in a southern direction. The mayor’s office also plans to complete a twelve-year program for the reconstruction of interchanges on the Moscow Ring Road. In total, almost 1.5 trillion rubles will be spent on construction, repair and maintenance of roads in the next three years. New construction can indeed improve traffic conditions in the city, experts say, but there are still many places where congestion persists.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin in his blog on Wednesday summed up road construction in 2023 and announced a plan for 2024. He recalled that last year in Moscow several large road facilities were completed and put into operation, including Bagration Avenue (the first intra-city toll road built from scratch connects Moscow City and the Moscow Ring Road; the fare is 600 rubles) and the main part of the Moscow High-Speed ​​Diameter (consists of reconstructed and constructed sections of streets; connects the north, south and east of the Moscow Ring Road).

In just one year, 115 km of roads, 66 tunnels, overpasses, bridges, and 19 pedestrian crossings were built.

This year, Sergei Sobyanin assured, the formation of the “new road frame” will be completed. Let us remember that Mr. Sobyanin’s predecessor, Yuri Luzhkov, was going to build a fourth transport ring, but the team of the new mayor considered the project too expensive, replacing it with chords and roads that divert traffic bypassing the city center. The northeastern and southeastern chords were subsequently united into the MSD. The southern road is 90% complete, Sergei Sobyanin said on Wednesday. This highway starts from the junction of Rublevskoye Shosse with the Moscow Ring Road, including Rublevskoye, Aminevskoye Shosse, Lobachevskogo Street, Obrucheva Street, Nakhimovsky Prospekt, Kantemirovskaya Street. This year, the authorities will complete the rest of the road, connecting the Tsaritsyno and Maryino districts with access to Kapotnya and the MKAD interchange with Verkhnie Polya Street, the reconstruction of which is also being completed. The program for the reconstruction of interchanges on the Moscow Ring Road, which began back in 2012, will be completed, said Sergei Sobyanin: a total of 20 objects have been updated during this time.

This year, the mayor’s office promises to complete a number of projects outside Moscow.

The southern part of the MSD will be completed: the route will pass through tunnels under the MKAD and Simferopol Highway, after which it will connect with the Solntsevo-Butovo-Varshavskoye Highway (the southern backup of the MKAD). The latter is already partially open, the remaining sections are still under construction. In total, the capital’s authorities plan to build 94 km of roads, 30 artificial structures and 15 pedestrian crossings in 2024. In 2024–2026 (and at a later date), it follows from the materials of the mayor’s office, it is planned to build local projects and roads of regional significance, in particular in the TiNAO, and to design new ones. According to the Moscow budget portal, within the framework of the city transport system development program, 431.5 billion rubles have been allocated for the construction, repair and maintenance of the entire road network in 2024. (45% of funding for the entire program), in 2025 – 443.2 billion rubles. (46%), in 2026 – 452.7 billion rubles. (49%).

“Now we are seeing a new approach to construction, which differs significantly from the approaches of Soviet designers at the end of the last century,” says Mikhail Yakimov, director of the Institute of Transport Planning of the Russian Academy of Transport. “The territory within the boundaries of the Moscow Ring Road has become more actively used for transit traffic; this was not the case before. The question is, how many more chordal and diametrical connections will be needed to meet the needs of residents without compromising their quality of life? These goals must be clearly defined and formalized.”

Coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement Petr Shkumatov supports the construction of new roads, but draws attention to the fact that the construction of new housing in the city is proceeding at a faster pace.

Vice-Mayor of Moscow Andrey Bochkarev previously stated, that by the end of 2023, 258 apartment buildings with an apartment area of ​​5.5 million square meters will be commissioned. m. “If construction continues at this pace, this will ensure a potential annual increase in the population of Moscow at the level of 250 thousand people,” says Mr. Shkumatov. “Sooner or later these people will buy cars. At the same time, roads should be built. We need to pay attention to district streets, build new bridges and overpasses. Perhaps we need to adopt the experience of Asian countries and start building two-level roads to allow transit through.” “Moscow is a gigantic metropolis with thousands of junctions, intersections, and traffic lights that require constant attention,” added Mikhail Yakimov. “70–80% of complex intersections require reconstruction and revision of traffic management. It will not be possible to solve these problems only with the help of the Moscow government; we need to involve residents and the public more.”

The Moscow region also revealed construction plans on Wednesday. In 2024, construction will be completed and traffic will open along the Mytishchi Expressway (the northern backup of the Moscow Ring Road), which will be tolled. The 16-kilometer highway will connect Yaroslavskoye and Dmitrovskoye highways. Regional authorities are also going to open more than 20 different objects with a length of more than 50 km, including overpasses in Ramenskoye, Krasnogorsk and Naro-Fominsk. The plans of federal structures are also known: by the end of 2024, the state company Avtodor will complete the construction of the Malye Vyazes bypass to eliminate the single-level intersection of the Central Ring Road with the Mozhaisk Highway, which is constantly causing traffic jams there.

Ivan Buranov