Road revolution, or Stop putting up with it

Roads and sidewalks in Yekaterinburg are in a catastrophic condition. This is not a metaphor or an exaggeration, it is a fact. And no one dares to dispute this fact. It cannot be challenged for one simple reason - practically not a single street in the city meets the requirements of current standards. Individual, recently laid fragments still somehow pass, but in general, each section of the road has an incalculable number of defects in the road surface, which do not fit into any standard requirements. These are bumps, dips, waves, ruts, cracks, hatches, and, finally, holes. Yes, we have pits of any size, shape and depth. By law, every road defect that does not comply with GOST must be immediately marked or fenced accordingly. It is marked precisely so that no one accidentally drives into it, since this really creates a threat to an accident, and therefore to the life and health of drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

It is not difficult to imagine what the streets of our city would turn into if all the dangerous potholes were properly marked with signs and fences. Traffic in the city would stop completely. Moreover, if we act in accordance with the law, traffic must be completely blocked in almost the entire city. Apparently, for this reason, neither the traffic police nor the road services are distracted by such trifles as potholes on the roads, leaving Yekaterinburg drivers to deal with the traffic situation on their own. Like, you know where you live, so drive slowly, carefully, looking around carefully and strictly.

Well, in general, I repeat, our roads are in a catastrophic state, and there is nothing to argue about. The dispute arises, as always, about who is to blame, and most importantly, could it be any other way?

As for who is to blame, we are offered many reasons. The main thing, of course, is the climate. Well, we were unlucky with the climate. Now, if Yekaterinburg was happily located in an area where there are no negative temperatures, then our asphalt would last forever. The roads would not be swollen or torn apart. But it didn’t work out. The Urals, you have to understand, that’s why the roads are bad. And we already believed it, almost. But suddenly, unexpectedly, information began to leak out that in Finland the roads are much smoother and, scary to say, there are no potholes at all. Both in Sweden and in Norway. At the same time, not all the roads there are new, they are also being repaired, and there are patches on them, but they still remain smooth, without waves or dips. And these patches do not fly off after six months, but serve regularly along with the road. And then they somehow recklessly built the Novokoltsovsky highway, which is not going through its first winter and nothing. It remains smooth, and the asphalt does not come off in the spring. Does the climate somehow act selectively? It turns out that if we need to build a road to the governor’s residence, we can do it, and it’s not just morons who build roads.

The second main reason is financing. Well, there’s not enough money, you know. It is necessary to repair 10% of the roads every year, but it turns out to be 5. It is necessary to lay the highest grade asphalt, but there is only enough money for the third. So we have to patch the remaining holes according to the emergency scheme - cold asphalt into a dirty hole, and roll it over with a passing truck. It's cheaper that way. True, in a month we will have to do it again using the same technology, and again, and again. And in the spring this hole will double in size, and we will have it again. Is it cheaper? Every time you need to go to this hole, order asphalt, bring out people and at least some equipment.

And here the question arises: why, year after year, do we not have enough money for quality repairs and maintenance of roads? Just imagine, the city is our home, and the roads are the floor of our house. Now imagine that the floor in your apartment has practically collapsed. The floorboards are shaking, the joists are creaking and bending, there are holes at every step, you have to walk carefully, just in case you break your leg. Of course, there is dirt everywhere in the house; the crooked floor cannot be properly swept or washed. And sitting on this floor, risking failure every second, the owner of the house is wondering how to spend the money he earns next year? First of all, of course, you need to plan to buy a new Mercedes; the old one is somehow no longer decent. Well, obviously we have to postpone it for the holidays. For a birthday party, arrange fireworks there, invite artists, treat guests. New Year, a sacred task - to bring a Christmas tree, an ice town for children, but what would it be without a holiday. The football field definitely needs to be updated, it’s inconvenient for the neighbors. But, of course, a military parade must be organized, but of course. Well, little things, plant flowers for summer, re-glue the wallpaper, new TV, iPad, phone, go on vacation of course. “What about the floor, what about the floor,” the residents of the apartment timidly ask. Well, as you can see, there’s not much money left, only enough for cheap linoleum. Maybe it will last a year. The main thing is to walk more carefully, do not step suddenly, and do not fall into holes. And if anything happens, we’ll board it up with plywood. And so every year, there is no money for a quality floor that is durable and beautiful. There is enough for everything, but not enough for the floor. And now, attention to the question - is the owner of this house normal or is he a complete idiot?

You can also imagine a factory workshop with new equipment, modern loaders, plastic windows, excellent ventilation, but no floor. Instead there are holes, dust, dirt. Could this be? No. And if it can, then not for long. The director will be fired immediately. But in our city it can. Every year we build a million square meters of new residential buildings, modern shopping, entertainment and business centers, hotels, and car showrooms. They are reconstructing stadiums, building a giant exhibition center, and are planning to host the FIFA World Cup and EXPO 2020. There is money for everything, for everything except roads. Everything in the city has changed over the past fifteen years, but the roads have remained the same as in the hungry nineties. They only got worse and dirtier.

The most interesting thing is that no one knows how much money is needed to solve the road problem in a reasonable time, say, five years. Nobody even knows what needs to be done for this. We hear only abstract arguments on the topic, it’s very expensive, well, of course, we can’t afford it, we don’t have enough money, etc. No one has ever said how much it might cost, for one simple reason - the “fathers” of our city never set themselves such a goal as having decent roads. I have a simple question, why exactly? What was stopping you? You can talk about this topic for a long time, come up with a lot of options, but one thing is obvious. The city administration considers the current state of affairs quite acceptable. For some reason this is beneficial to them.

In my opinion, it is absolutely clear that it is impossible to achieve a goal if you don’t even set it for yourself. Year after year, we hear cheerful comments from officials that everything is fine, everything is under control. Contractors, in accordance with the schedule, fill the holes first by cutting, when the asphalt dries a little with cold asphalt, in the summer it is already hot, and closer to winter, the same holes, again by cutting. The process is continuous. Streets that require major repairs, including replacement of the cushion, are repaired by cold milling. Such repairs are enough just until spring. In the spring, these streets suddenly begin to swell. Here they start telling us about water expansion and a three-year guarantee. Yes, a warranty is good, but we need smooth roads, not warranty repairs. Among other things, the city administration apparently has absolutely no information about the real condition of the roads. The deputy of the profile committee, E. Svalov, regularly comes to the radio with a pencil and notepad to write down the coordinates of the potholes, and the deputy head, E. Lipovich, asks to report road damage to his LiveJournal. Apparently, they have no more reliable sources of information. And these people pretend that they run the city. They manage without any idea of ​​what is really going on in it. This is confirmed by an eloquent example of the search for the reasons for the appearance of impassable dirt on the streets. The whole city can clearly see where the dirt comes from, and only our specialists tried to convince us that the dirt is formed from tires, studs, and, oh God, from exhaust gases. At the same time, completely seriously referring to scientific research. Thank God, chemical analysis confirmed that the dirt is still formed mainly from dirt.

Answer to the question - Who is to blame? – is extremely clear. It's not the climate, not the contractors, or even the lack of money. The city administration, led by the city manager, is to blame. It is the administration and no one else. We have never heard any statements from the head of the city regarding the unacceptable state of the city's road network. We have not heard any reasonable proposals to solve this critical problem. We don't know how much this solution might cost. The conclusion is very simple - as long as the current administration takes care of the roads, our roads will remain in their current state precisely because it considers this state to be quite normal and sees no reason for a radical change in the situation.

Now the main question is – What to do?

Surprisingly, the answer is quite simple. You just need to realize that Ekaterinburg, like any other city, vitally needs decent roads. If you want, the roads are of European level. The roads are smooth, with the correct profile, with a working storm drain. Roads that will be properly maintained, roads that require major repairs no more often than in normal countries with a similar climate. This will significantly reduce traffic jams, improve the environment, and most importantly reduce the number of injuries and deaths on the city streets. We need to realize that the problem of roads has become the main problem of Yekaterinburg. It has a negative impact on all spheres of the city’s life, slows down its development, and, if you like, disgraces our city. It is even more shameful to admit that this problem is insoluble for us. To admit that we are so poor, inept and wretched. City Manager Jacob and his administration think so, but I hope they are wrong.