Photo: facebook.com/Ukravtodor.Gov.Ua
The repair of the Ukrainian roads is gaining momentum. Last year, more than 4,000 km of national roads were repaired and constructed in the country. This is evidenced by the data of the State Agency of Motor Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor). The plans for this year are even more ambitious—about 4,5000 km of national roads.
There are more than 160,000 km of public roads in Ukraine. They are divided into two large groups: national roads and local roads. There are about 40,000 km of national roads and Ukravtodor is responsible for them—these are the main highways providing connection between regions, to regional centers, ports, and all transit. They are divided into international, national, regional, and territorial. The presidential project "Great Construction" is aimed at repairing such national roads.
arranged an interview with the transport expert Pavlo Kushniriuk about the current condition and repair of the main highways in Ukraine.
Kyiv—Odessa highway
The Kyiv-Odessa highway, 420 km long, is repaired from time to time by large and small sections. The repairs from the exit from Kyiv to Bila Tserkva have already been completed. Now 2 junctions are under construction in Chabany and Vita-Poshtova. Last year, the construction at the end of the Kyiv region and part of the Cherkasy region were completed. Further, in principle, the route is passable. In Odesa region, a large construction site was completed—a bridge across the Khadzhibey estuary. It was the only bottleneck, now 6 lanes have been made there and you can drive through without restrictions.
In addition, according to the expert, this year an overhaul of the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa road in the Odesa region will also begin. To do this, a loan agreement has already been signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank for a total of 900 million euros.
Highway Kyiv—Boryspil—Kharkiv
According to the expert, we already have the 1st category when driving to Poltava (with the allowed speed of 110 km/h). In 2019, the last bottlenecks near the villages of Pokrovska Bohachka and Krasnohorivka were completed. In Poltava, a bumpy road through the city was repaired, and the first order of the bypass was put into operation. The Ukravtodor mid-term plans include the construction of the second order.
Intensive construction is currently underway from Poltava to the border with the Kharkiv region. Ukravtodor promises to complete this project by the end of the year and this section will also have a road of the 1st category. There remains an old unrepaired section from Valky to Kharkiv. But, as far as I know, negotiations are currently underway to finance this against some loan agreement with an international bank.
Highway Kyiv—Lviv
From the exit from Kyiv to Rivne we have a high-speed highway. Bypassing Zhytomyr remains a problem area. There are also plans to make a road of the 1st category from Rivne to Lviv. Now there are 2 lanes along the entire length, there are developments to bring this road to 4 lanes. This will increase speed and commercial efficiency as it reduces fuel consumption and saves time. Today, if you are going to Lviv, then you have to go through the center of Dubno. But a contract has already been signed to finance the construction of the first stage of the Dubno bypass. That is, in the near future there are plans to bring the Kyiv-Lviv trip completely to the 1st category with a speed of 110 km/h.
Active repair work is now underway in almost every area, the expert notes. At the same time, the issue of the preservation and proper use of roads remains important. In Ukraine, there are still big problems with overloading of freight transport, and that has a destructive effect on the road surface. There were even cases when the road deteriorated after two or three years of operation (the average warranty period for road works is 7-9 years). At the same time, the contractor company won in court, since UkrTransBezpeka (State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety) did not carry out weight control.
Mistake in the text? Please select it and press: Ctrl + Enter
