Expressway… How common is this phrase! We all roughly understand what it is, but often we don’t know what expressways are, how fast they are allowed to drive, and how many autobahns are in Russia. Let's take a look at the history of highways, their present and future.
History of Appearance
The first highway appeared at the beginning of the last century in Italy. In 1924, it connected two large cities - Milan and Varese. The length of the road was 85 km. Interestingly, the word "freeway" used by many came from Italy. By the beginning of the 21st century, more than 6,000 kilometers of express roads had been built in the country.
Another well-known name for the road - "autobahn" - appeared in Germany. In 1932, the highway connected Cologne and Bonn, its length was only 20 km. An interesting fact: in Germany until 1941, more than 3,500 kilometers of express roads were built. To date, there are more than 13,000 kilometers of roadway in the country.
To date, expresshighway is the most used type of road in the world. The leading place in the construction of such routes is occupied by China. Their length by the beginning of 2015 amounted to almost 112,000 km.
In Russia, the construction of high-speed roads dates back to the times of the USSR. Unfortunately, it is not possible to calculate the number of built highways. Basically, the highway in Russia is separate sections of paved roads.
Traffic conditions
Which highway is considered a high-speed one in Russia? A motorway is a road with a certain road sign, which has several lanes for traffic in both directions, separated by a special fence or dividing strip. This road has no intersections with others on the same level (any intersections are possible only through a bridge or underpass).
Pedestrians, animals, any type of transport, the speed of which does not exceed 40 km/h, is prohibited on the expressway. These include bicycles, mopeds, tractors and any other self-propelled vehicle. Stopping public transport is also not allowed, and it is forbidden for cars and trucks to stop in places not intended for parking.
It is forbidden to make a U-turn and drive into the gaps of the median lane, reversing and training driving is unacceptable. So, when driving on the autobahn, be careful and do not break the rules.
Russian Highways
The main tracks in Russia start in Moscow. This suggests that most of the roads were built back in the daysRussian Empire and converted to modern requirements. The density of their network in the European part of the country is the highest. The main roads radiate from Moscow. The farther north, the less developed the network of highways. In the Far Eastern and Siberian Federal Districts, many roads are not connected to major highways. With individual cities, communication is possible only in the summer, and even then by air.
Road roads in Russia have a total length of 1,396,000 km, and those with a hard surface - 984,000 km. In accordance with the law on the classification of roads, they have different categories and are not only the property of the state, but may also be in the department of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as private individuals. These include highways of federal, regional and municipal, local significance. There are also private highways.
Federal Highways
Federal highways are solid and can be fast. Their list is approved by the Government of Russia, they are state property. Such roads have a certain numbering with a letter in front. Which of them are federal?
Firstly, these are all the roads connecting the capital of Russia - Moscow - with the capitals of neighboring countries, as well as with the administrative centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Such tracks have the prefix "M", they include:
- M1 "Belarus" - "Minsk Highway" - connecting Moscow and Belarus bordering Russia.
- M2 "Crimea" -uniting the European route E105 with Moscow, Tula and Kharkov.
- М5 "Ural" - having the longest length of 1879 km and connecting Moscow with Chelyabinsk.
Secondly, these are roads connecting separate administrative centers. They are prefixed with "P":
- P22 "Caspian" is one of the longest regional roads, with a length of 1381 km. It is part of the European route E119, which passes through Moscow, Tambov, Volgograd and Astrakhan.
- P504 "Kolyma" - the length is more than 2000 km. It is the key highway of the Far East. Runs from Yakutsk to Magadan.
Thirdly, access and connecting roads that can connect cities with sea or river ports, airports or railway stations, as well as with other transport hubs. All of them are indicated by the prefix "A".
From January 1, 2018, a new list of federal roads in Russia will come into force. It will not separate routes into main and others. The changes also affected the numbering and names of roads. In the near future, the speed on the highway will be at least 130 km/h.
Road "Moscow - Noginsk"
The distance from Moscow to Noginsk is only 58 km. Today this route runs along the M7 Volga highway, which stretches from Moscow through Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and ends in Ufa. The road is federal. She cannot boast of a large throughputcapacity, now from 3 to 7 thousand cars a day can pass through it. Because of this, traffic jams and congestion often occur at the entrance to Moscow.
In view of the increasing traffic, the government decided to put into operation a new high-speed highway "Moscow-Noginsk". This road will become an alternative to the M7 and will be paid.
Toll highways have become very popular in developed countries, now it's Russia's turn. The project started in 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2017. It is this road that will help unload the main highways and allow the residents of Noginsk to get to the capital in 20-30 minutes. This will prove to be a great help for people working in Moscow.
Toll road "Moscow - Noginsk" will have a capacity of 30,000 cars per day. With up to 6 lanes in one direction and a speed of 120 km/h, the highway will help minimize travel time and maximize driver comfort. The fare on such a route is still unknown - either it will be fixed, or it will depend on the mileage. At the moment, due to low funding, the expressway is only partially built.
Route "Moscow - St. Petersburg"
At the moment, St. Petersburg and Moscow are connected by the federal highway M10 E105 "Russia", put into operation in the 19th century. The connection of the two capitals was planned by Peter I and carried out his project, which became a backup of the water communication system. Today the length of the road is 706 km. Due to the small capacity and low speed of traffic on this route, congestion often occurs. Up to 130-170 thousand cars drive along the highway per day, and the speed at the entrance to Moscow is up to 10 km/h. In view of this, a few years ago, a project for the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg expressway M11 appeared.
The road "Moscow - St. Petersburg" will be partially paid. Its length will be 684 km, and it will actually replace the current M10 highway. The highway is expected to be commissioned in 2018. To date, several sections have been built: from 15 to 58 km from Moscow to Solnechnogorsk and from 258 to 334 km - bypassing Vyshny Volochok in the Tver region.
Climatic conditions will have to be taken into account when creating the highway web. The four regions through which the route passes have different climates: Moscow and Tver regions are distinguished by temperate continental, while Novgorod and Leningrad regions are characterized by transitional continental-marine. All sudden changes in temperature can have a bad effect on the roadway and, as a result, render the spent resources unusable. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the choice of flooring very seriously. The future of the track itself directly depends on this.
The Moscow-St. Petersburg expressway will have 2 to 5 lanes in each direction and a speed of 150 km/h. This will significantly reduce travel time between cities and improve conditions for drivers. conjectur althe fare on this highway will be about 1200 rubles. Everything will depend on the time of day and a certain section of the route. Thus, the road "Moscow - St. Petersburg" will become the second toll highway in Russia. It should be clarified that approximately 60% of the road under construction will be tolled, while you can also use the current free M10 highway.
"Moscow - Beijing" - a look into the future
The dream of linking the West and the East has always lingered in the hearts of enterprising people. To date, the construction of a high-speed highway connecting Moscow and Beijing has become possible. In 2014, a memorandum was signed between Russia and China on the construction of a high-speed highway "Moscow - Beijing".
Today, the train connecting the two countries is on the road for 130 hours - that's 6 days. With the implementation of the project, it will be possible to travel from Beijing to Moscow in two days, covering a distance of 7,000 kilometers at a speed of 350 km/h. Cooperation with China Railway will bring stable economic development to both China and Russia, and serve as a good connection between Europe and Asia.
Besides, the road "Moscow - Beijing" will contribute to the development of the Ural Federal District. It will connect stations in the following cities: Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and then - Astana (Kazakhstan), Urumqi and Beijing. The main and primary task is to connect Moscow and Kazan with a high-speed highway. For this, China will provide its technologies and invest $10billion. It is planned to complete the project by 2030.
"Moscow - Kazan" - new speeds
The Moscow-Kazan high-speed highway will make it possible to reduce the time spent on the road to 3.5 hours. Its further extension to Yekaterinburg will cover the distance of 1595 km in 8 hours. It is planned to move up to 400 km/h along the route of high-speed trains. Accelerated regional trains will run for distances up to 200 km at a speed of 200 km/h.
It is planned to use accelerated long-haul night trains, as well as freight and container transportation on the highway. Speed indicators will be 160 km / h. It is planned to complete the Moscow-Kazan railway line in 2018. What will its construction give? First of all, it will provide jobs for the population. Experts say that the construction of the road in the Urals will help revive the entire industrial complex. About 16,000 cubic meters of good crushed stone, about 15,000 tons of very high quality reinforced concrete structures, 125 tons of metal structures and 25 tons of railroad tracks will be required per kilometer of the railway track. The purchase of these materials from abroad will require a considerable amount of money, which will increase the cost of the project, which means that it is necessary to improve production technologies and increase their quality locally. Local enterprises can cope with this task and provide jobs for the population for many years.
Moscow - Don
Federal highway "Moscow - Don" M4, named so at the endlast century, was built in 1967. At that time, the route ran from the capital through Voronezh to Rostov-on-Don and had two traffic lanes 7 meters wide. At the beginning of 1991, the route was lengthened by 500 km, and Novorossiysk became its final destination. So, due to the addition of different sections, the modern M4 Don road appeared. It is interesting that it became the first highway with a paid section of the track that went around the village of Khlevnoe and had a length of 20 km.
Today, the Moscow-Don highway is the best in Russia. Its only drawback is that in the summer it is crowded with cars both in one direction and in the other. Many people from Moscow and its suburbs go with their families on vacation to the sea. The route leads to the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Rostov Region and the Crimea. Back at the same time, a lot of vegetables and fruits are being transported from the southern regions of Russia to Moscow, St. Petersburg and the northern regions of the country.
In winter, on certain sections of the road, especially in the Krasnodar Territory, where the route passes through mountain ranges, snow drifts and heavy ice are possible. Bad weather can block traffic on the expressway for several days. So, in 2009, the elements stopped the movement of all vehicles on an unrepaired section of the road in the Rostov region for several days.
Another problem is frequent traffic jams at checkpoints in the Moscow region, as it takes some time to pay for toll sections.
There are many on the highwaypaid sections, and this gives a huge advantage over free roads. Firstly, the speed limit of the M4 highway in some sections is 130 km / h, and in most parts - 110 km / h. Secondly, at such a speed, an excellent roadbed is required for almost the entire length of the road, and it is. Thirdly, a service for drivers has been introduced at paid sections - emergency assistance. Great idea - video communication with the inscription SOS every 1.5 km. If you have a breakdown or run out of gas, just get to the yellow box and you will definitely be helped in the near future.
High-Speed Rail
High-speed railway lines go back to the last century with their history. Even under the USSR, there were plans to create high-speed trains, for example, a wagon - a prototype of a jet train. His tests took place in the 1970s. Further, a project was developed for a special high-speed road, which was supposed to connect Moscow with Kharkov and Lozova with branches to Simferopol and Rostov-on-Don. The speed limit on this road was to be 250 km/h.
Unfortunately, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to an economic crisis, and all plans are in the distant past. The development of the Sokol-250 high-speed train led to its testing in 2000, but due to shortcomings found by the commission, it was never put into operation. In addition, the cost of creating our own high-speed rolling stock exceeded the allowable norms, and it was cheaper to purchase trains already available in Europe that had passed the test.
In 2006 it wasan agreement was signed between Russian Railways and the German company Siemens for the supply of 8 high-speed trains capable of speeds up to 330 km/h. The first train was delivered in 2008 and went on a flight on the Moscow - St. Petersburg route. The high-speed highway "Moscow - Petersburg" received reliable trains covering the distance between these cities in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The next high-speed train appeared on the route "Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod". Travel time was 3 hours 55 minutes. This route has been open to passengers since mid-2010. By the end of 2010, the high-speed communication of international importance "St. Petersburg - Helsinki" became available.
Highways of the capital
Moscow, like any metropolis, is flooded with vehicles. Most residents of remote areas go to work or to the city for shopping or entertainment by private transport. But, unfortunately, the infrastructure does not allow to constantly expand roads. To solve this problem, Moscow decided to build expressways. Until the beginning of the 21st century, the concept of "high-speed roads", and especially within the boundaries of a metropolis, did not exist at all. The development of new projects will make it possible to relieve 60% of the central streets of the city from transport.
One of the requirements: Moscow's high-speed highways should run far from the residential area and have a high speed of movement. To solve these problems, it was decided to minimize the number of exits from the highway, and none of them lead to any tradecenter. It was this move that made it possible to increase the speed on the highway to 100 km/h.
To date, it is known about the project of three such highways: North-East, South and North-West. All roads will have a connection with the Moscow Ring Road and connect with each other. These highways (or chords), according to the plan of the authorities, should replace the Fourth Ring Road. For these purposes, it is planned to connect the North-Western and North-Eastern rings in the area of Festivalnaya Street, and the Southern chord will cross the North-West in the Krylatskoye area. Thanks to this connection, drivers will be able to get from one end of the city to the other without entering the center.
All over the world, the transport problems of large cities are solved at the expense of highways. High-speed highways take a detour, along the outskirts of the city, and allow using raised bridge interchanges to leave the center of the metropolis free from excess traffic. According to the project in Moscow, it is planned that chords should not interfere, at the same time serving public transport. This means that in order to cross residential areas, these roads must either be raised above the main part of the highway, or go underground.
The speed limit on the track also does not yet have final figures. The experts did not reach a consensus on this issue. What is the speed limit on the highway in the city? Some believe - no more than 80 km / h, while others argue that if you improve safety, then the speed can be increased to 100 km / h. Now, as you know, the following standards have been adopted for cities: the speed cannot exceed 60 km / h.
In Russia onTo date, many projects have been launched for the construction of high-speed highways - both autobahns and railways. This speaks of the development of the economy and will contribute to the well-being of the state as a whole.
