Putin to unveil new section of high-speed road in Street Petersburg

President Vladimir Putin will unveil a new stretch of a high-speed road in St. Petersburg on Friday, August 2. This is the longest section of the Western high-speed diameter road that provides the shortest access to E-18 Scandinavia Highway from the city’s ring road. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov and St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko will also take part in the ceremony. The Western high-speed diameter road is a strategic investment project in St. Petersburg. The 46.6 km high-speed road will link the southern and northern districts of the city. The more than 212 billion rouble project has been financed by an investor that will charge a toll for the use of the road. There are three sections in the road. The 8.5 km southern one has already been finished and opened for traffic in 2011. Some 60,000-65,000 vehicles use it daily. The 26 km northern section to be unveiled on Friday, August 2, will be toll-free until autumn. The 12 km central, and most complex, section is expected to be commissioned in 2016. After completion, the same toll will be charged in all sections of the road.