Roman Starovoit and Alexander Beglov examined the progress of the construction of the Vitebsk interchange

On August 8, the Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, and the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Starovoit, discussed the implementation of strategic transport projects in St. Petersburg and the progress of work on the construction of the Vitebsk interchange of the Western High-Speed Diameter. "Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin gave an impetus to the development of urban transport infrastructure in general. He stressed that St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region are one agglomeration. The latitudinal highway of high-speed traffic (SHMSD) connects us with the Leningrad region. Vitebsk interchange is the first stage of the SMSD. In the future, the interchange will connect two expressways and provide continuous traffic in the direction of the eastern districts of the city and the region. This is one of the most important projects for the city," the governor stressed. Roman Starovoit, in turn, noted that the Latitudinal highway is the most difficult object in engineering terms. "The city has done tremendous work to resolve property and legal issues, transfer networks, communications, coordination with the railway and land owners. This work is not always visible, but it takes up to 80% of the project implementation. Sometimes it is much easier to build than to solve these complex legal and technical issues. The city is coping brilliantly with this. The governor keeps them under personal control," the minister said. Following in an easterly direction, the Vitebsk interchange goes from the junction with the Western High-Speed Diameter (ZSD) in the area of Blagodatnaya Street, passes in an overpass over Mitrofanevsky Highway and Moskovsky Prospekt and then continues to Vitebsk Avenue. The work on the construction of the interchange includes the reconstruction of Vitebsk Avenue and Aeronautical Street, including the construction of two overpasses over railway tracks and an above-ground pedestrian crossing. The implementation of the project solves several key tasks: it allows for communication between the Moscow and Frunzensky districts and the ZSD, reduces the load on the street and road network and redistributes traffic going through the central districts. By increasing the accessibility of the ZSD highway for residents of the southern districts of St. Petersburg, the interchange makes it possible to quickly reach the northern districts of the city or get to the ring road with significant savings in fuel and travel time. To date, the extension of the superstructure over the railway tracks in the area adjacent to the Vitebsk interchange to the ZSD has been completed. The workers' movement along the newly built overpass in the alignment of Vitebsk Avenue has already been opened. The dismantling of the existing Artillery Overpass has been completed — a new one is being built in its place. At the junction site adjacent to Vitebsk Avenue, work is being carried out on the installation of a reinforced concrete slab of the roadway, as well as excavation work on the construction of approaches to the overpass. In total, since the start of construction, 604 piles have been installed at the facility, 199 supports have been erected, almost 20 thousand tons of metal structures have been installed, four kilometers of noise shields are provided to protect residential buildings. A special feature of the project is the creation of a highway in cramped urban conditions — the main course goes along the railway and the territory saturated with public and business buildings and communications of all kinds. For reference: Characteristics of the Vitebsk interchange: Six lanes will be available for vehicles. The main course of the expressway, with three lanes in each direction (two–tier overpass) - 2.6 km. The exits adjacent to the ZSD and Vitebsk Avenue are 5.39 km. The total length of the road surface is 10.15 km. The allowed speed is 110 km/h; the capacity of vehicles is 70 thousand per day. The fee collection system is "Free flow" (without barriers).