Translated material
Hot streak
Before the New Year, the authorities are trying to make it easier to enter Moscow
Moscow authorities are ready to celebrate the New Year almost as City Day. In the last days of 2007, large-scale construction projects were completed at an accelerated pace and facilities that Mayor Yuri Luzhkov mentioned in his promises were opened. In particular, on Saturday the mayor pompously opened two-way traffic in the tunnel at the intersection of Leningradskoye and Volokolamsk highways near the Sokol metro station. Cars can now move through the tunnel and towards the area.Let us remember that the construction of this interchange on an already congested highway began in the summer of 2007 and significantly complicated traffic flow not only on weekdays, but also on weekends. Despite the difficulties of working on a site that was specific from a hydrological point of view (if the reconstruction was incorrect, the tunnel could simply float), road workers had to quickly remove tram tracks, relay many communications, and strengthen the structures of the channel, walls and ceilings. As a result, instead of the six months initially allotted for reconstruction, the builders completed it in five. A significant part of the work on the reconstruction of the tunnel on Leningradsky Prospekt was completed in October , when underground traffic was opened for travel in the direction from the region to the center of Moscow. And if in the fall the opening of the first stage did not significantly affect the transport situation in the area of the interchange at the intersection of Leningradsky Prospekt with Alabyan and Baltiyskaya streets, then the current “green light” for two-way traffic along the roadway of the 600-meter power tunnel, expanded by 2.5 meters as a result of reconstruction has already been called a New Year's gift to the capital's car owners. And the very fact that road workers quickly completed the reconstruction of the tunnel gives motorists hope, at a minimum, for the timely completion of the reconstruction of the entire Leningradskoye Shosse and Leningradsky Prospekt.
However, the mayor himself noted at the opening ceremony of the tunnel that in comparison with the upcoming construction, the completion of work in the tunnel is just a drop in the bucket. After all, only the first of three multi-level interchange tunnels in the Sokol metro area is open. According to Mr. Luzhkov, “important work is already underway to organize access to the Volokolamskoye Highway.” “There will be a pretty nice solution for organizing traffic here,” he noted. It is assumed that several tunnels at once, the construction of which should be fully completed only in 2009, located at different levels, will separate the traffic flows along the Leningradskoye and Volokolamsk highways with the cross streets. By this time there will be no traffic lights left here. “After the work on creating interchanges and tunnels on the square near the Belorussky Station and Pushkinskaya Square is completed, it will be possible to get to the city center in the Leningrad direction without traffic lights,” Mr. Luzhkov said. “There will be nine lanes of traffic leaving the city center and eight lanes of traffic entering.” And this, according to the calculations of Moscow officials, will double the capacity of Leningradka - it will be about 10 thousand cars per hour in both one and the other direction.
By the end of the year, the authorities have planned another opening of the transport hub. On December 27, four days earlier than planned, full traffic will open along Zvenigorodsky (Krasnopresnensky) Avenue. Its new section will connect Marshal Zhukov Avenue and the Moscow Ring Road at its intersection with Novorizhskoe Highway.