MINSK OBLAST, 6 October (BelTA) – Part of the second ring road around Minsk was opened to traffic on 6 October. The section is 23.7km long, BelTA has learned.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko took part in the opening ceremony. The head of state was informed about the fulfillment of his instructions concerning the construction of the second ring road and prospects of Belarus' transport infrastructure, including motorways and railroads.
Once completed, the new ring road around Minsk will be about 159km long. The construction process is split into two stages. The first one is scheduled for completion by 1 January 2016. A road connecting the M3 motorway Minsk-Vitebsk and the M6/E28 motorway Minsk – Grodno – the Polish border (Bruzgi) will be built by that time. The second stage of the project will last till 7 November 2017. In the second stage a road will be built to connect the M6/E28 motorway Minsk – Grodno – Polish border (Bruzgi) and the M1/E30 motorway Brest (Kozlovichi) – Minsk — the Russian border (Redki).
The first stage of the project is expected to cost Br3.1 trillion. The money will be allocated by the national development fund and as loans of the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus. The second stage is supposed to begin this year and will cost Br2.3 trillion.
Alexander Lukashenko was informed that proposals against placing motorway service outlets along the second Minsk ring road had been voiced. The President spoke in favor of the proposal. “There are good towns, district capitals every 40-50km along every road in Belarus,” pointed out the head of state. “These outlets and infrastructure should be built in these district capitals, in Bereza, Kobrin, and Dzerzhinsk where workforce is available.”
According to the head of state, the decision against placing motorway service outlets along the road will contribute to the development of the district capitals and other towns located near the road. The construction of motorway service outlets outside populated localities is often a costly proposition because such outlets need power supply, water supply and so on. Small parking lots where weary drivers can have a rest are sufficient, believes Alexander Lukashenko.
The head of state talked to workers of the road construction enterprises and Minsk District residents and answered a number of their questions. After the opening ceremony Alexander Lukashenko went for an exploratory trip along the newly opened section of the second Minsk ring road.
The project to build the second Minsk ring road heavily relies on cement concrete for building the road surface instead of asphalt concrete. The choice is expected to reduce the cost of the road's maintenance between major overhauls.
