It is difficult to find a second such country in the world, besides the Russian Federation, whose existence would depend to the same extent on the successful functioning of communications between its regions. This is due to both vast geographical areas and the peculiarities of the historical development of the economy.
Roads of Russia
As a rule, the larger the territory of the country, the more internal roads in it are ranked by their status. Of all the variety of Russian roads, a certain part of them is singled out in a special category. They are usually denoted by the phrase "Federal Highway of Russia". It is easy to guess that such a status is assigned only to the most significant highways, which provide communication between the regions of the country.
Any federal highway is integrated into a common transport infrastructure that ensures the exchange of goods and the successful functioning of the national economy. The well-being and prosperity of the whole of Russia largely depends on the consistent and well-thought-out development of the road network.
Classification
The entire road network in the Russian Federationunified in accordance with current state standards. Each federal highway has its own individual designation on maps and in reference books. It consists of a letter index and a track number. The letter M denotes highways connecting the capital of the country with regional centers. For example, the M5 federal highway connects Moscow and Chelyabinsk. And of course - all the big and small cities on the segment of the path between them. In addition, the letter M denotes the federal highway through the entire territory of the country to the border with a foreign state. The P index denotes highways connecting regional centers.
The prefixes E and AH mean that the federal highway is part of an international route passing through the European or Asian part of the Russian Federation. Designations of belonging of roads to international highways are used in parallel with the national designation. In addition, access sections of roads from the main highway to regional centers also have federal status. They are marked on the maps with the letter A. It should be noted that another classification of highways is currently being developed. Its adoption is expected no earlier than 2018.
Finance & Development
The most important feature of the "Federal Highway" status is the fact that this object of the country's transport infrastructure is financed from the federal budget. This applies equally to operating costs and construction costs. Most regionscountries simply cannot afford to independently build and develop a modern-day road network. Therefore, plans for the development of road infrastructure are adopted at the highest level. Planning is usually done over a five-year period.
Road standards
According to its status, any federal highway must comply with a whole set of technical standards. This is not only about the condition of the roadway and the provision of the possibility of movement in several lanes in each direction. Equally important are bridges and tunnel crossings over natural obstacles and the entire complex of roadside infrastructure.
Road junctions are of particular importance. Ideally, all intersections with other highways should be at different levels. Of course, not every federal highway yet fully meets all the necessary technical requirements. First of all, this concerns the transport routes located behind the Ural Range. Highways that meet European quality standards are not easy to build in Russia for a number of reasons. First of all, climatic factors matter. They have the strongest influence on the cost of construction.
Roads and economy
It is well known that the distance from the federal highway to the settlement most directly affects the prospects for its further development. The well-being of the economy of any region begins with the planning and construction of transport infrastructure. In Russian federationtransport routes of the modern level are equipped mainly with its European part. And beyond the Urals, things are not so good. A photo of the federal highway P297, connecting the Amur Region with Yakutsk, gives reason to doubt its status.
For a significant part of the way, this federal highway is devoid of even an elementary asph alt surface, which makes it difficult to pass during prolonged precipitation. And this cannot but affect the development of the economy of the Far East.
Cargo and passengers
A characteristic feature of federal highways is the predominance of freight traffic. Passengers to other regions usually prefer to travel by train or plane. It's both faster and more convenient. This state of affairs is due to the size of the geographical spaces of the country. Of course, any federal highway in Russia also provides passenger transportation - intercity buses run in accordance with the schedule.
But long-haul cargo transportation prevails over passenger traffic. On any photo of the federal highway, there are always more cargo vans and tractors than passenger buses.
In regions
The current network of federal transport highways is distributed extremely unevenly across the territory of the Russian Federation. And, no less important, the technical condition of the roads often leaves much to be desired. Moreover, their quality deteriorates asdistance from the capital of the country and from major regional centers. This is evidenced by almost any photo of the federal highway in Siberia and the Far East. The situation in the regions is further complicated by the fact that roads must not only be built over a very long distance, but also maintained in a technically acceptable condition.
Given the simple fact that they are under the influence of low temperatures and other adverse factors for a significant part of the calendar year, this is not so easy to implement. Among other things, the large annual temperature difference destroys the road surface in the strongest way.
Speed mode
The most important element that ensures the smooth functioning of the federal transport system is the mode of movement of vehicles outside settlements. According to the current Rules of the Road, the speed limit on the federal highway is 90 kilometers per hour. And on specially designated sections of motorways, it can reach 110 kilometers. Many consider these figures to be unreasonably low. But such a restriction is one of the most important parameters of traffic safety. Nevertheless, the problem of raising the speed limit is being actively discussed both at the expert and legislative levels.
And there is every reason to believe that in the very near future the maximum speed on the federal highway will be 120 and even 130 kilometers per hour. Of course, we are talking only about those areas where the technical conditions make it possible to ensure traffic safety. The main deterrent to raising the speed limit is the quality of the road surface.
Will there be toll roads in Russia?
Currently, this difficult issue is under active discussion. Most road users perceive the idea of tolls clearly negatively. People in Russia are accustomed to driving on the road for free, limiting themselves to paying the state an annual transport tax. However, world experience shows that this is almost the only way to accumulate the necessary financial resources for the construction of new modern highways. At present, the federal highway M4 "Don" and some other highways in the European part of the country have paid sections. And there is every reason to believe that this practice will expand. There will be much more toll roads in the Russian Federation. Given the size of its territory, this is quite justified.
