Authorities in Russia’s Volgograd Region have launched the construction of a 12km-long (7 miles) bypass, already dubbed Russia’s largest road project for the next five years.
“This project is one of the largest for the next five years [and] I’m not talking merely about money, I’m talking about the scale of the project. It is easy to see: at the moment, three federal highways converge in the city, which makes it impossible to live in,” Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin told reporters.
Construction site of the road project “Obkhod Volgograda” (Volgograd bypass). © The government of the Volgograd Region
The Volgograd bypass project is largely aimed at redirecting Volgograd’s huge traffic flow, especially cargo transportation, and moving it outside the city, which is located half-way between Moscow and Russia’s southern regions. The project is also seen as an opportunity to develop the Volgograd territory as a whole, drawing in new businesses and investors.
The cost of it is estimated at 19 billion rubles (€260 million or $290 million), the construction agreement states. Work on the first stage of the road has already started in the Svetloyarsky district of the Volgograd region.
