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 transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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 ...

Kotlin Island Kotlin (russian: Ко́тлин) ( sv, Reitskär) is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. Kotlin separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the gulf. The fortified city of Krons ...

. 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 administra ...

– 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 The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...

. An interchange junction near the international

Pulkovo Airport Pulkovo ( rus, links=no, Пулково, p=ˈpulkəvə) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It consists of one terminal which is located south of the city centre. The airport serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines an ...

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

{{coord, 59, 58, 32, N, 30, 09, 42, E, region:RU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Connections across the Baltic Sea Ring roads in Russia Roads in Saint Petersburg Roads in Leningrad Oblast

Construction

General data

See also

References