Date
Author
Михаил ТЕЛЕХОВ; Санкт-Петербург
Source
Preserved copy
Translated material
Ruble diameter
St. Petersburg is preparing for the opening of the first toll road
On October 15, the road from the port of St. Petersburg with access to the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) opens. Subsequently, approximately from December 2008, it will become the first toll road in the northern capital. The authorities will also prohibit travel from it to the city, which, according to officials, should rid the streets of freight transport.For this purpose, the construction directorate of the Committee for Improvement and Road Management (KBDH) of St. Petersburg reconstructed Marine Corps Street, and the construction directorate of the Western High-Speed Diameter repaired, extended and connected Avtomobilnaya Street to the WHSD using a new overpass.
Previously, there was no overpass that runs over the railway tracks from the Avtovo metro station to Tramvayny Prospekt. Cars driving along Stachek Avenue (a section of which was raised by an overpass) very often stood at the barrier, waiting for the next train to show its last car. Marine Corps and Avtomobilnaya streets were located on opposite sides of Stachek Avenue and were not connected to each other in any way. There is a street leading to the sea. It is called the Road to Coal Harbor and goes from the port to Stachek Avenue. But it was not possible to extend it and connect it with the Western High-Speed Diameter, which stretches along People’s Militia Avenue, since the section farthest from the port falls into a residential development zone.
Therefore, they decided to connect Avtomobilnaya Street to the WHSD with the help of a new overpass, merging it with Marine Corps Street, which in front of the port flows into the Road to Coal Harbor.
In appearance, the new highway looks convincing - four lanes of a smooth ribbon of new asphalt cover go towards the port, and they are framed by newly installed lighting poles and lawns with autumn grass beginning to emerge. Now the final preparations for the launch of the machines are underway. Landscape department specialists are laying the last pieces of turf on the lawns, electricians are bustling around the lamp posts, plumbers are checking the operation of the storm drains.
At the junction of Avtomobilnaya Street and Marine Corps Street under the Avtovsky overpass and around it there is much more bustle. Just two days ago, asphalt pavers, accompanied by rollers, were covering a section of Avtomobilnaya Street with the last layer of road surface, and trucks were pouring gravel where it should be, but there was no road surface yet. Electricians hung lanterns between the lighting poles and strung wires.
In general, work will be in full swing until the opening day. Contractors must be on time. By the way, the directorate for the construction of the Western High-Speed Diameter tried to postpone the start of the launch to November 10. But the officials were adamant. As a result, I had to strain myself.
According to Nikolai Koptev, the KBDH employee responsible for this interchange, the connection from the port to the Western High-Speed Diameter should solve several city problems, and primarily the problem of the residents of this part of the Kirovsky district, who have long suffered from amateur cargo settling tanks. At one time, trucks clogged their yards and adjacent streets, waiting for goods to be sent, loaded, or orders. Recently, the city has partially solved this problem by opening several new terminals, but some truckers and cargo companies, unwilling to spend money, still line Coal Harbor Road and Marine Corps Road. After October 15, road signs prohibiting roadside parking should appear on these highways, as well as on Avtomobilnaya Street.
True, as Nina Skvortsova, a specialist in the construction directorate of the KBDH, explained to Vremya Novostey, letters to the relevant departments about the installation of signs prohibiting parking were sent out. But there are no answers yet. Also, transit freight transport will be closed to the city - only on the Western High-Speed Diameter. Those who are transporting goods or loading goods at enterprises in St. Petersburg will have to obtain a special pass. But officials cannot yet answer how this system will work. They also do not yet know how revenue collection will be organized. After all, the WHSD is a concession project. That is, the main investor is a private company. Accordingly, in order to recoup the funds, the road will be tolled for some time - several decades. The first section where they will begin to collect money will be the connection to the WHSD along Morskoy Koreshaya and Avtomobilnaya streets.
As Nikolai Koptev explained, it is possible that the board will not appear immediately, but gradually. Because the infrastructure of the highway - fencing, markings - will be completed until the end of the year. In December, a competition will be held to determine which company and in what way will collect payments for travel on this highway.
But, according to the deputy head of the regional representative office of the Association of International Road Carriers in the north-west of Russia, Konstantin Sharshakov, the very issue of the appearance of a toll road is very controversial. After all, by law, every toll highway must have a free alternative, but on this section there is no such alternative (if you don’t go into the city). Also, according to him, the introduction of a throughput system is incomprehensible, because the port serves 30% of “internal” transport, that is, those that work with city enterprises. They are the ones who drive around the city. And transit travelers themselves avoid entering the metropolis (unless, again, they are charged for travel).
As for parking, there are some in the city, but there are not enough of them. And it happens that the port gave a signal “ready for loading”, but in front of the port they slowed down - they are not ready yet. The truck, which has already left the parking lot, has to wait by the sea for weather. And there will be nowhere to stand. By prohibiting roadside parking, the city did not foresee that confusion might begin at the port itself.
In general, the conversation on the appearance of the first toll road will obviously have to continue when traffic begins on the new section, and officials decide on laws, technologies and toll costs.
The Western Expressway, connecting the two semirings of the ring road, is an urban expressway with transport interchanges at different levels, mostly eight-lane, with an estimated traffic speed of 120 km/h and a maximum traffic intensity of up to 94 thousand vehicles per day (predicted intensity for 2010), equipped with modern automated traffic control and communication systems. The total length of the route is 46.6 km. Overpass sections will make up about 55% of the highway's length. The WHSD provides for the construction of 14 transport interchanges at different levels and unique bridge structures with under-bridge dimensions above the ship fairway of 55 m and 35 m. The construction of such structures will be carried out in Russia for the first time.