More than 5 billion rubles. Rosavtodor will spend on replacing asphalt on federal roads in the Moscow region

More than 5 billion rubles. Rosavtodor will spend to replace asphalt on federal roads in the Moscow region. Already in May, after the conclusion of the relevant contracts, it is planned to begin repairs on sections of the M-2, M-5, M-7, M-8, M-9, A-108 highways, Shchelkovskoye Highway and other key highways. Contractors must provide “measures to eliminate congestion,” but experts predict that traffic jams cannot be avoided during the repair season.

FKU “Tsentravtomagistral” (a division of Rosavtodor responsible for the main roads of the Moscow region) is holding more than two dozen competitions for “installation of wear layers” – replacing the top layer of asphalt – in areas under its jurisdiction M-2, M-5, M-7, M-8 , M-9, A-108, as well as Shchelkovskoye, Dmitrovskoye, Rublevo-Uspenskoye, Ilinskoye highway. The length of areas to be repaired varies from 1 to 20 km. In some cases, it is planned to replace the entire asphalt, in others – only on certain lanes. The total amount of financing for the mentioned tenders, according to Kommersant’s calculations, exceeds 5 billion rubles. The largest amount of funds – about 900 million rubles – will be invested in updating the section from the 22nd to the 50th kilometer of the Novorizhskoye Highway: the surface is being changed on three to four lanes in each direction.

Work is planned to begin in May-July, according to the statement of work. Contractors will be required to consider “measures aimed at reducing congestion and increasing capacity within the boundaries of the work” and also consider the possibility of carrying out repairs “outside of peak traffic hours.” Coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement Petr Shkumatov believes that due to the narrowing of the roadway, traffic jams are “absolutely inevitable.”

“Carrying out this type of work does involve restricting the movement of vehicles, however, by redistributing the flow of traffic, road workers will try to minimize the inconvenience for drivers,” Rosavtodor assured Kommersant. “Up-to-date information about the restrictions being introduced will be communicated to all traffic participants in a timely manner.” It should be noted that on the M-8 highway, in the first quarter of this year, the expansion of the roadway in the section from the 35th to the 40th kilometer (in the Pushkino area) will also begin from four to eight lanes, the work will last until 2026. At the 124th kilometer of M-5, repairs of the bridge over the Chernaya River will begin in May (a competition for 55.5 million rubles has already been announced).

Repair plans for the coming season have also been determined by Avtodor. As Kommersant was told in the state-owned company, work is planned, in particular, on the “small concrete” A-107 (sections 54–61, 82–94, 207–236 km and others), on M-1 (including sections 17–25, 33–45, 95–110 km), M-4 (94–103 km) and in other places. It is also planned to begin repairing a number of bridges.

The Moscow region authorities are also planning repair work, but there are no specifics yet. The regional Ministry of Transport only told Kommersant that they were going to renew the surface of more than 1 thousand sections of regional and municipal roads. “In the summer season we will work on organizing traffic – we will adjust the markings, modernize intersections,” the department noted. The state company Avtodor has not yet announced tenders for asphalt replacement.

“Kommersant” noticed that in 2021-2022, FKU Tsentravtomagistral concluded much fewer contracts for replacing the coating than planned for this season. “The published government procurements are also designed for two-year contracts, that is, we are talking about the volume of work for 2024–2025,” Rosavtodor explained to Kommersant. “Most of the objects are transferable, and the work program can be adjusted throughout the year. In particular, if additional funding limits are allocated, additional tenders may be held. All work and procedures are planned, their quantity approximately corresponds to the volume of previous years.”

A year ago, we recall, the head of the State Duma Committee on Transport, Evgeny Moskvichev, asked the White House to allow Rosavtodor to redirect 200 billion rubles planned for construction to repair federal cars in all regions. Rosavtodor then confirmed that the condition of departmental roads has been deteriorating over the past few years, including due to a lack of funding, increased traffic intensity and the joining of former regional roads to the federal network. Citizens continue to complain about the poor condition of certain areas on social networks, but the bulk of the complaints are made about facilities outside the Moscow region. On Rosavtodor’s social networks, drivers published videos of “killed” sections of the M-7 highway in Udmurtia, M-9 in the Tver region, and R-132 “Golden Ring” in the Ryazan region.

It is important not only to build new routes, but also to maintain in proper condition those roads that already exist, especially in the Central region with enormous loads on the transport system, commented on the situation, member of the State Duma Committee on Transport Alexander Tolmachev (United Russia). He cites the increased cost of “a square meter of road surface” as one of the reasons for high repair costs. “When we receive information that prices for sand, crushed stone and other materials are sharply increasing in a particular region, we turn to the regulators, primarily the FAS,” he said. “The allocated money must be used wisely, avoiding overspending. In the fall of 2023, when adopting the federal budget, we defended the allocation of decent amounts specifically for the repair and maintenance of roads. It was proposed to reduce them, but we managed to prevent this.” Deputy head of the public council of Rosavtodor Nikolai Bystrov in this regard speaks of the growing risk of deterioration in the state of the federal network: only bitumen, according to Mr. Bystrov, has almost doubled in price over the past year.

Ivan Buranov