The M20 highway also has other names: the official one is the Pskov highway (P-23) or the philistine one is the Kyiv highway. Sometimes the name is shortened to a somewhat incorrect "Peter-Pskov highway". The M20 has the status of a federal highway and is part of the international highway E95, which starts in St. Petersburg, passes through Belarusian Vitebsk and Gomel, Ukrainian Chernigov, Kyiv, Odessa, and after 3770 kilometers ends in the Turkish city of Merzifon.
Route in Russia
Within Russia, the M20 highway crosses the Leningrad and Pskov regions, has a length of 533 kilometers and passes along the following route: St. Petersburg (0 km) - Gatchina (38 km) - Luga (132 km) - Pskov (258 km) - Ostrov (336 km) - Opochka (410 km) - Pustoshka (472 km) - Nevel (521 km) - the border with Belarus, the Lobok border crossing (533 km). It should be noted that the road is equipped with modern bypasses around Pskov, Ostrov and Gatchina, so motorists do not need to go through these settlements.
Highway Characteristics
Almost the entire length of the M20 St. Petersburg - Pskov highway has an asph alt concrete surface, a width of 7 meters and two lanes. Only a few tens of kilometers when leavingPetersburg and to the Gatchina bypass there is a six-lane traffic, three in each direction. But even this modern section of the road sometimes cannot cope with the flow of cars on Sunday and Friday, when traffic increases several times due to tourists and citizens taking a break from the exhausting bustle of the metropolis.
The M20 highway is located in a zone with a mild temperate continental climate, where sudden temperature changes and extreme temperatures are rare. According to the drivers, on the way from Luga to St. Petersburg there are sections in a very unsatisfactory condition. Motorists are waiting for potholes, bumps, bumps. After Luga and all the way to the Belarusian border, the coverage is better, but more and more truckers appear, cluttering the highway and making it difficult to overtake.
M20 highway reconstruction
Schemes and plans for past and future work on the development and improvement of the road will not be difficult to find. At the moment, two large-scale reconstructions have been carried out, which are primarily aimed at reducing the traffic load on Northern Palmyra.
In the period from 2007 to 2011, the highway was expanded from two to six lanes in the section from the turn to Pushkin and to the settlement of Doni. In addition to the expansion and new coverage, the road in this section was equipped with a road to the village of Lesnoye, additional interchanges with the Rekhkolovsky and Volkhonsky highways, overpasses and underpasses. All these innovations gave the M20 federal highway a European look.
Reconstruction of 2014-2017 touched the Doni section - Gatchina bypass. She islaunched the highway bypassing the settlements of Vaiya, Izhora and Zaitsevo, the road was also widened and three interchanges, two elevated crossings and a viaduct over the railway tracks were built.
Pros and cons
Advantages of the M20 highway St. Petersburg:
• Cost. The driver will have to pay only for fuel, there are no paid sections on the highway.
• Convenience and speed. This is the closest way from St. Petersburg to Belarus and Ukraine. If you avoid traffic jams at the exit from St. Petersburg and high trucker traffic, you can get to the Belarusian border without much haste in 7-8 hours.
• Beautiful views and attractions. Outside the window runs the real Central Russian nature, with its successive forests, fields, lakes and rivers. Near the highway there are several interesting cities with unique monuments, so you can combine a pleasant trip with informative and useful tourism.
• Quite a lot of gas stations, parking lots, cafes, overpasses and roadside hotels.
Disadvantages of M20:
• The track crosses many settlements, constantly having to slow down.
• Quality. There are several areas with frankly poor coverage.
• Narrowness. Seven meters wide and two lanes are sometimes not enough for a comfortable ride, especially near cities and when approaching the border, where there are many heavy vehicles. Sometimes overtaking is very difficult, the driver has to be constantly attentive, with the onset of a snowy winter, the situation is even moregetting more complicated.
Attractions
Throughout the entire route of the M20, travelers have the opportunity to diversify the monotonous road by visiting interesting places. Some of them are pearls of the historical heritage of Russia, some are unlikely to go to on purpose, but it is very handy to see them while driving by.
38th kilometer - Gatchina. Here you must visit the Grand Palace and the nearby huge palace park with ponds, palaces, sculptures. The city has the largest temple in the region - the Cathedral of the Virgin.
132nd kilometer – Luga. The Catholic Cathedral of St. Nicholas and the Memorial to the Partisans, which is located on the 135th kilometer of the M20.
154th kilometer - Gorodets. Temple of the Dormition; Holy spring; chapel with healing relics of St. Tryfan.
Kilometer 193 - Dilapidated Fiophilova Hermitage, but it is visited by Christian pilgrims.
258th kilometer - Pskov. The symbol of the city is the ancient Kremlin with the Trinity Cathedral located in it. Snetogorsky and Mirozhsky active monasteries. Church of A. Nevsky. A monument dedicated to the Battle of the Ice, but it is located a little away from the M20.
336th kilometer – Island. Chain bridges built in the middle of the 18th century; Trinity Cathedral; Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Useful information
There are several sections on the M20 highway that require drivers to concentrate their attention at any time.time of day: 49th, 177th, 480th kilometers - limited visibility; 177th kilometer - both a sharp turn and a steep descent; 120th kilometer - a sharp turn; 138th kilometer - stationary traffic police post.
There are many cafes and gas stations on the highway, the distance between them rarely exceeds 20 kilometers, so the driver is unlikely to be left hungry or without fuel. Those wishing to stay overnight will find hotels in Gatchina, Luga, Pskov, Ostrov, as well as on the 53rd, 77th, 235th and 286th kilometers of the route. There are no problems with entering Belarus, usually drivers pass it without queues and inspections. But car owners should psychologically readjust when entering another country, because the behavior and requirements of Belarusian traffic cops differ from the requirements of their Russian counterparts, there are also differences in traffic rules.
