FROM WEST TO EAST

Although Russia's roads still show the signs of years of neglect, the Russian road industry has made good progress during the last few years. Russian President Boris Yeltsin recently approved a massive state road programme, to rebuild many road systems and construct many new highways. Since the 1995 World Bank loan, rebuilding work had already begun. The programme will, for example, upgrade the Moscow-Minsk and Moscow-St Petersburg-Finnish border highways, and plans to build a new highway from Irkutsk in Siberia to the eastern port of Vladivostok. About 38,000km of Russia's federal roads need resurfacing or rehabilitation, and over 30% of road bridges are in bad condition or need emergency repairs. From 23 July to 17 August, officials from the US and Russian Federal Highways Departments participated in the Trans-Russia Exhibition Expedition, whose mobile exhibition travelled from Moscow to Vladivostok. It celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Russian road industry, and documented the needs and progress of Russian roads. During the journey's 21 stages, officials exchanged ideas and technologies with regional road administrations and local contractors. They presented US and Russian road construction companies and technologies, and drew public attention to the 'uniqueness' of Russia's 1996 highway challenge.

Language

  • English

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00729844
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • Files: ITRD
  • Created Date: Dec 26 1996 12:00AM