The first toll road in Russia. Quality of Russian roads

People's wisdom says: "In Russia, two troubles are fools and roads." Agree or not with this popular expression is the personal choice of everyone. But hardly anyone will argue with the fact that without good autobahns in the future such a huge country simply can not exist. It is the roads, or, as they are currently called, the federal routes, unite the fantastically huge territory of Russia into one whole.

From Russian History

The existing road network in the country was formed over several centuries, as the territorial expansion of the Russian Empire. The development of transport infrastructure continues to this day. And only clinical optimists can express satisfaction with its results. A significant part of the roads in Russia do not correspond to the level necessary for the successful development of the country. First of all, this concerns the vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East, where, as in former times, directions predominate instead of roads. And the age-old hopelessness of this situation makes one think about the fact that the present state of things can change only when toll roads are introduced in Russia. There is hardly a reasonable alternative to this solution. Currently, road construction is financed mainly by tax, which is paid annually by the state to each owner of the vehicle. But it does not allow to accumulate in the proper volume the funds necessary for the construction and operation of such significant infrastructure facilities as intercity highways.

The first toll road in Russia

Positive experience in the construction and operation of modern highways has already been achieved. The toll road in Russia already exists, it is the federal highway M-4 "Don", leading from the capital to the city of Rostov on the Don and further towards the North Caucasus. This highway is characterized by a large volume of both freight and passenger traffic. For the time being, only four plots are paid for in its entirety. But this is, as they say, a pilot project. All paid sections on the federal highway M-4 "Don" have alternative variants of traffic between their initial and final points. The presence of duplicate routes is a mandatory requirement when deciding whether to transfer a particular road to the paid category. It is interesting to note that most of those who use the M-4 "Don" route constantly, have stopped thinking about finding an opportunity to go round paid sections on duplicate routes. The choice in favor of toll roads is made by those who value their time and comfort more opportunity to save money. In addition, roundabout alternative routes are always longer than direct ones. Fuel to overcome them is spent more, and the savings look very doubtful.

Unification of the road network

The basis of the modern road network in Russia is federal roads. These highways connect the capital of the country with all regional administrative centers. Their financing is made from the federal budget. The rest of the road network is ranked by regional and local status. The system of federal roads is an important component of the overall technological infrastructure that provides communication between parts of a single country. Any modernization and innovation in the principles of approach to road construction can be made only by a decision of the federal authorities. Therefore, paid travel on the roads of Russia begins to be introduced gradually on federal highways. Currently, it exists only in the European part of the country.

Financial aspects

Road construction requires significant capital investment. There is no objection to the simple fact that the kilometer of a modern multi-lane freeway is very expensive. But to this we have to add more and inevitable costs for the development of roadside infrastructure - bridges, overpasses, multi-level interchanges, lateral driveways and parking. To find in a short time the necessary financial resources for the construction of modern highways will help only the introduction of a system of fees for the use of roads throughout Russia. In this case, the construction of roads is financed by everyone who travels through them.

Climatic factors

The complexity of building the transport infrastructure and maintaining its efficiency at the required level is greatly exacerbated by the low temperatures that are typical for most of the Russian territory. Large temperature changes lead to more intensive destruction of the road surface compared to countries with a temperate climate. This further increases the cost of road construction in Russia. First of all, this applies to the regions of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.

Of the features of national psychology

It's no secret that the very phrase "toll road in Russia" causes a sharp negative reaction among a significant part of its population. People who have become accustomed to traveling on the roads for free for centuries are not easily convinced that there is a very direct relationship between the lack of payment and the traditional view of Russian roads, as the worst on the planet. That the only chance to gradually bring the country's road network in line with generally accepted world standards is to introduce a fare for the most important highways. A radical change in the existing situation can only be realized by the fact that the toll road in Russia is a good road. And there is no other way than that which works successfully in most of the technologically advanced countries of the world. Of course, this is possible only on condition that payment for toll roads in Russia will go specifically to their reconstruction and construction. And not on personal bank accounts of a narrow group of interested parties.

World experience

Despite the uniqueness of Russia with its vast geographical expanses, this is not the first country in the world that faces the need to seek financial means for the modernization and construction of road infrastructure. And the whole world experience of road construction makes it possible to draw a completely unambiguous conclusion that good roads exist first of all where they have to pay for their travel. That is characteristic, this principle equally well works both in boundless Canada, and in microscopic in size Israel. In these very different countries, the freeways are of the same quality. Travel by them is for a fee.

The process went

The system of toll roads in Russia already exists. In addition to the four paid sites on the federal highway M-4 "Don" from September 11, 2015, the section of the M-11 route from the Moscow ring road to Sheremetyevo became paid. The length of the paid section of the route is 43 kilometers. In the same year, a section of the Western High-Speed Diameter near St. Petersburg became paid. Toll roads in Russia for trucks appeared on November 15, 2015. This date marked the beginning of an irreversible process in the sphere of heavy truck traffic. So far, this only applies to vehicles that weigh more than twelve tons. Pay truck owners will only have to move along federal routes. The tariff is 3 rubles 75 kopecks per kilometer of the way. The decision to introduce fare for trucks was made at the highest level. It was not canceled even in spite of considerable social tension and protest actions of truck drivers. If to take into account, what exactly heavy cargo engineering causes the greatest damages to a road covering, the decision it is quite justified.