waiting for the president of the country

The governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, plans to ask Vladimir Putin for about 10 billion rubles in October for the construction of artificial structures in the region. According to observers, personal agreements between the governor and the president could lead to the fact that money for construction will be found even if there is a shortage in the budget.

In October, President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to the Leningrad region, who plans to attend the opening of the reconstructed Alvar Aalto library in Vyborg. The regional governor, Alexander Drozdenko, is going to appeal to the head of state with a request to finance the construction of several artificial structures.

As a source in the government of the Leningrad region told Kommersant, the administration is now analyzing the needs of the region and preparing a presentation of priority projects for the president. Most likely, Mr. Drozdenko will ask the president for money for the construction of problematic railway overpasses in the Vyborg region (in the settlements of Vozrozhdenie, Tammisuo, Paltsevo and Lazarevka, the estimated cost of each is 1.5-1.6 billion rubles), an overpass across railway tracks in Gatchina and, possibly, for the construction of a bridge across the Volkhov River in the city of Kirishi.

The first four objects are the most important for the region, since local residents actively oppose increasing the intensity of freight railway traffic to 45 pairs of trains per day without the construction of at least four overpasses, which should preserve the connection of settlements with the “mainland”.

The project of the overpass in Gatchina, according to the decision of the FAU "Glavgosexpertiza of Russia", will include temporary bypass equipment. To date, the Ministry of Transport has made a decision to allocate 440 million rubles from the federal budget for the construction of this crossing (the first stage is a two-lane overpass, the second stage is two more lanes), but the facility cannot be included in the 2013 targeted investment program until then until the approved and agreed upon design and estimate documentation is submitted. Until September 16, the designer, Lengiprotrans, must submit the project for examination. The leadership of the Leningrad region plans to petition for the fastest possible consideration of the project.

On September 30, a meeting of the Coordination Council for the development of transport infrastructure in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region will take place. On it, Alexander Drozdenko plans to ask the Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov for funds for the construction of several structures. First of all, a five-span bridge across the Volkhov River at the entrance to the city of Kirishi, which requires 2.57 billion rubles. It is assumed that the new two-lane bridge will take on the load that the existing crossing cannot handle due to its insufficient width. The new bridge project already has a positive expert opinion. The request of the Leningrad region to allocate funds for its construction has been considered by relevant departments in the federal government since the spring.

Mr. Drozdenko also plans to ask the Ministry of Transport for money for the construction of a four-lane overpass over the railway in Vsevolozhsk. It is still difficult to estimate the estimated cost of the object in the absence of a project.

Despite the fact that the Leningrad region has some of the highest traffic intensity in the country, most of the roads are at one level, and the construction of overpasses over them is still a long way off. For example, at the request of Russian Railways, design and estimate documentation was developed for the construction of three overpasses - in the village of Ulyanovka, in Gatchina on the Gatchina - Kurovitsy road and in Volosovo on the Gatchina - Opole highway. But the sources of financing for the construction of these overpasses have not been identified.

Kommersant's interlocutor at the Ministry of Transport said that Alexander Drozdenko's personal agreements with Vladimir Putin could indeed lead to the allocation of money for the construction of overpasses in the region. “In such matters, the president’s decision is a decree for everyone, and money can be found even with a serious budget deficit,” the publication’s source believes.

Political scientist Evgeny Negrov agrees: the Leningrad region’s chances of receiving federal money are great. “The Leningrad region is an important region for the presidential administration. Therefore, the agreements that emerged with the team of the new governor two years ago are important here. The construction of overpasses in the Vyborg region will increase Russia’s share in the global economy and reduce social tension in the region. In such situations, the president traditionally personally and his administration make decisions on financing projects,” says Mr. Negrov.

Vlada Gasnikova

Leningrad region builds bridges