As is known, The opening of the central section of the WHSD will take place on December 2, 2016. The start of operation of the section will make it possible to travel from the north to the south of the city without having to travel through the busy center of St. Petersburg. The project of the central section of the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter is the most complex and technologically advanced part of the toll road. The 11.7 km long section passes through four districts of St. Petersburg: Primorsky, Petrogradsky, Vasileostrovsky and Kirovsky. To implement the site, two new cable-stayed bridges were built, as well as unique bridge through the Sea Canal.

During the first time the central section is open, there will be 1 exit on the Makarov embankment, and travel will be free.

Changing the tariff plan

WITH On December 4, 2016, new tariff plans for travel on the WHSD will be introduced. When the central section of the WHSD opens and active operation of the full length of the road begins, a significant increase in the flow of vehicles is expected, and therefore the FLOW+ system will be actively implemented. Its essence lies in the fact that payment for transponder owners will be carried out not by zones, as now, but in accordance with the actual kilometers traveled along the toll section. Thus, payment in cash will remain unchanged. The only exceptions will be the busiest interchanges due to the launch of the central section: Primorsky Ave. - Bogatyrsky Ave. (zone 3a) and Blagodatnaya St. - Ekateringofka River (zone 2). The fee at both junctions will be 50 rubles, instead of the current 15 rubles in zone 3A and 35 rubles in zone 2. It is important to note that with the introduction of the new payment scheme, discounts when paying with personalized BSCs are cancelled. For owners of BSK, an exchange for a transponder is offered while maintaining the balance of the personal account. For owners of transponders with a subscription fee, an additional 10% discount will be provided. Accurate calculation of the cost of travel along the WHSD using the new system allows you to perform

Putin opened the last section of the WHSD in St. Petersburg

© Photo by Alexander Kalinin

The Central section of the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter (WHSD) toll road was opened in St. Petersburg. It connects the already operating Northern and Southern sections and will allow for through passage from one end of the city to the other. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the opening ceremony of the road.

During the opening ceremony, the head of state was shown a map of the highway. The President asked how many vehicles could travel along the highway per month. “We expect 280-320 thousand per day and about 6-7 million per month,” replied Alexey Bnatov, general director of Northern Capital Highways.

Traffic on the Central section will open to regular drivers “before the end of the week.” Workers still have to dismantle temporary structures. At first, travel through the section will be free, since the road operator has not yet completed the paperwork. In addition, the new mileage payment system requires testing.

The length of the Central section is 12 km (the entire highway is more than 46 km). For now, only the exit to Vasilievsky Island (to the Makarov embankment, which is still under construction), will operate on the highway. Options for exits to Shuvalovsky Prospekt, New Highway and Shkipersky Protok are currently being developed.

The WHSD is one of the most expensive projects implemented in the public-private partnership (PPP) format. The agreement was concluded between St. Petersburg, the WHSD and the Northern Capital Highway consortium, which will receive the route into operation for 30 years. The total cost of the project is more than 200 billion rubles. Specifically, the Central section was built for 120 billion rubles, about 51 billion of which were allocated from federal budget. At the same time, the St. Petersburg authorities must compensate the concessionaire for losses if he collects less than 9.6 billion a year from drivers. Construction of the WHSD began in 2005. The Southern section was launched in 2012, and the Northern section in 2013.

Editorial Board of the Russian Road Portal

The Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko and the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov plucked up courage and invited the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the opening of the Central section of the Western speed diameter(WHSD) in St. Petersburg in late November - early December. Since the President himself was invited to open the Central Section, there is hope that it will be possible to drive along the entire WHSD in 2016. When exactly the new section of the WHSD will be opened remains a closely guarded secret for now.

The exact date of the opening of the WHSD is carefully concealed

For several months now, journalists have been trying to find out from St. Petersburg and federal officials the exact date opening of the Central Section of the WHSD in St. Petersburg, but in response they receive only an approximate deadline. In July 2016, the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Igor Albin said that the Central section, and labor movement it could open as early as September.

On September 13, during a visit to the site, Georgy Poltavchenko told reporters that the Central Section of the WHSD would definitely open in November, but could not give a date. Journalists also tried to find out when traffic would be allowed on the highway from the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Maxim Sokolov, but he could only assure that this would happen in November.

As part of the III annual conference Transport infrastructure of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, held in St. Petersburg on November 8, CEO ANO “Directorate for the Development of the Transport System of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region” Kirill Polyakov said that by the end of November all technical and technological work on the WHSD will be completed, after which the commissioning of the facility will begin. According to Polyakov, the asphalt concrete surface at the site is now completely ready, markings are being applied, and fencing and lighting are being installed. In his welcoming speech at the same conference, Maxim Sokolov stated that the WHSD should be fully operational by the end of 2016.

By latest information, voiced by the general director of Northern Capital Highway LLC Alexey Bnatov, the opening of traffic along the Central section of the WHSD in St. Petersburg will take place from November 28 to December 4. The exit from the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter to Vasilyevsky Island will open simultaneously with the launch of the Central section. After the start of traffic in the area of ​​the exit, the following scheme will apply traffic: motorists will be able to exit from the WHSD to a new section of Makarova embankment, and then turn onto Morskaya embankment at the Admiralsky proezd alignment (at the same time, through passage to Admiralsky proezd from Makarova embankment through Morskaya embankment is not provided). This scheme will be in effect until the opening of all stages of the extension of the Makarov embankment under construction (according to the state contract - the second quarter of 2018).

Let us remind you that initially traffic on this section should have been launched before August 31, 2016. This date was indicated in the action plan for connecting the WHSD to the Makarov embankment, which Igor Albin in St. Petersburg in March.

Are they expecting the opening of the Central Section of the WHSD?

During a working meeting with the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Governor of St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the opening of all three sections of the WHSD will have a very good effect not only for the citizens, but also for the economy of the North-West of the country, bearing in mind the connection of the port with the main highways leading to Moscow.

Freight carriers are also talking about the importance of opening the Central Section of the WHSD.

“Undoubtedly, the opening of this section will significantly facilitate the work of carriers, since the WHSD will connect the northern and southern districts of St. Petersburg, bypassing the historical center. But whether carriers will use the Central Section of the WHSD after its opening depends on the tariff for traveling through it,” - FM Logistic transport director Alexander Dyakonov commented to the DorInfo portal.

By the way, almost nothing is known about the tariff for travel on the Central section of the WHSD. The authorities of St. Petersburg have established only the maximum permissible amount of tolls on regional toll roads for 2017. Based on the relevant resolution, the cost of travel along the entire WHSD should not exceed 652 rubles. Earlier, Georgy Poltavchenko told reporters that the tariff “will depend on how the economic model is implemented.” It is also known that travel along the Central section of the WHSD will be free during the first stage of operation, however, how long it will last has not yet been announced. Let us add that today the cost of travel on the Northern section of the WHSD for passenger cars without discounts is 100 rubles, on the Southern section - 80 rubles.

City taxi companies that plan to regularly use the new highway are also awaiting the opening of the Central Section of the WHSD.

“We are negotiating with the government of St. Petersburg to provide our company with a discount on the installation of transponders. We want the company to have a single account for all the cars in our fleet, of which there are more than a thousand. Negotiations are moving quite quickly, most likely, by mid-2017 our idea can be implemented. In the near future, after the launch of the entire WHSD, our cars will use the highway at the request of customers,” - Fyodor Lobanov, press secretary of the TaxovichkoF and GruzovichkoF Group of Companies, commented to the DorInfo portal.

He also noted that the opening of the Central section of the WHSD will certainly relieve congestion on the roads of St. Petersburg; carrier companies are looking forward to the launch of the entire highway; this will make the roads in the city center clearer.

St. Petersburg motorists are waiting for the opening of the Central section. Tired of city traffic jams during the last heavy snowfall, they began joking about the opening of the WHSD. So, November 8th at mobile application service "Yandex. Traffic jams” on the map of St. Petersburg on the Central section of the WHSD, marks appeared with the following comments: “With the opening of the WHSD, there was just an accident,” “Yes, you can drive right through, hurray!!!”, “Oh, how cool with the wind! And no one)))” and “April 1 is not soon yet! Closed".

The uniqueness of the Central Section of the WHSD

The 11.7 km long bridge includes the four largest bridge structures across the Neva delta. The height of the bridge across the shipping canal is 52 meters, across the main fairway - 35 meters, the bridge in the area of ​​​​Krestovsky Island - 25 meters. At the same time, the bridge over the Sea Canal is a two-story metal structure: cars to the south will follow the lower tier, and cars to the north will travel along the upper tier. Under Vasilyevsky Island, the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter runs in a tunnel version.

Workers began construction of the site in 2013. The cost of the Central section of the WHSD is 120 billion rubles, the entire Western High-Speed ​​Diameter is 210 billion rubles. The central section will connect the existing Northern and Southern sections, and it will be possible to travel from north to south of St. Petersburg in just 20 minutes. Now two sections of the WHSD are used by about 4 million people per month or 150 thousand cars per day. It is expected that by using the entire length of the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter, this number will double, and about 90 million vehicles will travel along it per year.

Let us add that even before the commissioning of the Central section of the WHSD, the authorities of St. Petersburg had already announced the construction of three new interchanges with the highway: with the New Highway, with Shuvalovsky Prospekt and with Shkipersky Protokot. One of the first - in November 2018 - is planned to build an interchange with the New Highway, which will bring traffic flows from the villages of Pesochny, Beloostrov and Levashovo to the WHSD. The interchange at the Shuvalovsky Prospekt alignment is planned to be put into operation in another year - in November 2019, the interchange with Shkipersky Protok Street in the southern part of Vasilievsky Island - in December 2020. The Committee for the Development of Transport Infrastructure of St. Petersburg has already started implementing “road maps” for the construction of these facilities, their total cost is estimated at 5.2 billion rubles.

Daria Smirnova

The opening ceremony of the central section of the intracity toll highway took place in St. Petersburg "High Speed ​​Western Diameter"(WHSD), which makes it possible to travel through the metropolis in less than 20 minutes. This opening marks the end of the WHSD construction project, the total construction cost of which is estimated at 210 billion rubles.

Cost of construction of the central section Expressway Western Diameter is estimated at 120 billion rubles, of which more than 69 billion are the investor’s own and borrowed funds, and co-financing from the federal budget is 50.7 billion.

The length of the main passage of the High-Speed ​​Western Diameter is 46.6 kilometers, total length with exits and interchanges - more than 70. There are 15 transport interchanges on the road, traffic is carried out in 4-8 lanes. The opening of the highway relieves congestion in the historical center of St. Petersburg, the Ring Road, and the road network of city districts. More than 70% of the route section is in the form of bridges and overpasses, with a total of 7 bridges.

The northern and southern sections of the highway have already been built and are operated in a toll mode. The central section of the High-Speed ​​Western Diameter - from the embankment of the Ekateringofka River along the western tip of Vasilyevsky Island to the right bank of the Bolshaya Nevka River - has become the most difficult from a construction point of view. After the opening of this section of the High-Speed ​​Western Diameter, it will connect the Ring Road of St. Petersburg in the South and North of the city and provide access to the Scandinavia highway.

The length of the central, most difficult section is 11.7 kilometers. Its main “attraction” is four bridge structures across the Neva delta.

The highest bridge is across the shipping canal - 52 meters, across the main fairway - 35 meters, then to Krestovsky Island - 25 meters. In addition, the WHSD runs under Vasilievsky Island in a tunnel version.

Forecast for the High-Speed ​​Western Diameter

The capacity forecast for next year is 90 million cars. At the same time, more than 60 percent of motorists already use transponders - special miniature chips. And they pass payment points without stopping - the system automatically debits the money. In particular, in order to encourage other motorists to avoid paying in cash or by bank card, from December 4 on the WHSD they will launch new system payments - Flow+. It allows transponder owners to pay for the trip not by zone, but more correctly from the point of entry to the WHSD to the point of exit. At each entrance and exit to the WHSD there are frames on which antennas that read the transponder signal and video cameras are mounted. There is no need to slow down in front of such a frame, no time is lost.