Translated material
Route plan
The government is looking for money to build roads
Yesterday, on Zvenigorodsky Avenue, which is under construction in the capital, a traffic jam formed in the direction of the Moscow region during rush hour. In the newly built Serebryanoborsky tunnel, two lanes were blocked. According to the capital's utility workers, the soil collapsed on one of the strips and a hole formed. “Bulging” of the fabric was detected on the adjacent lane. Movement towards the region for several hours was carried out along the only undamaged lane. The collapse occurred due to water eroding the soil under the road. At the same time that road services were repairing the newly built highway, the Russian government was discussing a strategy for the development of the transport industry until 2015.It turned out that there is still not enough money for roads. The head of the Ministry of Transport, Igor Levitin, who presented a new program for the development of the industry for six years at yesterday's meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, was forced to admit that it was in short supply. The lack of money primarily affects railways and roads. The deficit in railways alone is 1.4 trillion rubles.
Mr. Levitin's maneuver is very limited. Or cover the deficit from the budget. Or introduce new fees and increase transportation tariffs by including an investment component in them. According to the minister, if we are talking about the railway, then the tariff in 2009 may further increase in this case by 6-8% for freight transportation. He made a reservation that the “innovation” will not affect passengers. With regard to roads, we are talking about the introduction of tolls for travel on federal roads for trucks weighing over 12 tons.
However, all these ideas do not yet look like a final solution. Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov instructed the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance to finalize the program by May 15 in order to come to agreed decisions on the size of tariffs for transport transportation and financing the program deficit. That is, it will be accepted by another government - at least another prime minister. And the current prime minister noted the commendable desire of the Ministry of Transport to pursue a “flexible tariff policy.”
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was most dissatisfied with the shortage of money for roads, since only 30% of the 4 trillion rubles that should, according to plans, be spent on the development of the Moscow transport hub have been found. The mayor demanded a revision of the figures so that the city could receive all the money by 2015. Mr. Luzhkov is not as flexible in his transport tariff policy as Mr. Levitin, and is ready to once again, without any economic frills, increase the transport tax for residents of the capital by 50%. Other regional leaders demanded that the center co-finance the metro construction, at least in a 50/50 ratio.
Mr. Levitin reported on the construction timelines for the most ambitious projects. Thus, the Chita-Khabarovsk highway should be put into operation in 2010. The Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed toll road is promised to be built by the magical 2020, to which it is now fashionable to postpone the country’s most ambitious development plans. But two sections of the toll highway between the two capitals will be completed a little earlier. The first stage of construction will begin in 2009 from the Moscow Ring Road (15 km) to 58 km in the area of Solnechnogorsk and Klin. “This is the most expensive and difficult section of the route,” explained Mr. Levitin. “There are heavy junctions and a bridge.” By 2012, the minister hopes, this site will be commissioned. The second stage is the construction of a 50-kilometer road from St. Petersburg. Its construction will be completed in 2015. And already in June of this year, the Ministry of Transport will name the company that builds the route.