The Saint Petersburg Ring Road (russian: Кольцевая автомобильная дорога вокруг Санкт-Петербурга) is a 142 km (88 mile) orbital freeway encircling

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The city's only

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

, it is listed in the Russian road numbering system as federal public highway A-118.

Construction

The need for the construction of a beltway around St Petersburg was first stated in the 1965 General Development Plan of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The western segment of the road was planned to be constructed as a causeway forming part of a proposed flood-protection

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. In late 1979, construction of the dam facilities commenced and by the early 1990s a two-lane road connected the northern shore of the

with the city of

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

on Kotlin Island. However, lack of financing in the midst of economic turmoil in Russia halted further development of both the dam and the Ring Road project in 1992. Construction of the Ring Road was resumed in 1998. The first freeway section of the Ring Road – connecting the northern end of the dam, near Gorskaya railway station, with the northern outskirts of St Petersburg in

Vyborgsky District Vyborgsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia. *Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Leningrad Oblast *Vyborgsky District, Saint Petersburg, an administrati ...

– was opened on 26 December 2002. By September 2006, freeway segments of the Ring Road completed the eastern bypass around St Petersburg with grade-separated junctions with the E-18/A-181 route in the northern segment, E-105/R-21 route in the eastern segment, and E-105/M-10 route in the southern segment of the road. The completed part of the Ring Road included the cable-stayed Bolshoy Obukhovsky Bridge, the only non-bascule bridge across the main branch of the Neva River. An interchange junction near the international Pulkovo Airport was opened in November 2007. By this time, construction of the Ring Road was resulting in a significant boost in land values in the vicinity of the highway and its interchanges. The south-western and western sections of the Ring Road, including the dam facilities and the intersection with the E-20/A-180 route, were gradually constructed throughout the late 2000s. The six-lane causeway across the

includes bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and a tunnel under the main shipping channel. After more than two decades of construction, the completed Ring Road was officially opened on 12 August 2011 by the

Russian Prime Minister The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 f ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, and the Governor of St Petersburg,

Valentina Matvienko Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ...

, who inaugurated the dam facilities. The St. Petersburg Ring Road was notorious for the delays and budget overspending during its construction.

General data

* Length: * Width: * Lanes: 4 to 8 * Bridges and trestles: 105 * Tunnel: 1 * Grade-separated junctions: 26 * Speed limit:

References

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Construction

General data

See also

References