Saint Petersburg Ring Road

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The Saint Petersburg Ring Road (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская кольцева́я автодоро́га) is a ring road currently under ongoing construction which encircles the central regions of the city of Saint Petersburg. It will, when completed, be the first beltway around the city.

The need for the construction of a ring road around St-Petersburg was first recorded in the 1965 General Development Plan of Leningrad. In 1984 the authorities of Leningrad and the Leningrad region (Leningradskaya oblast') resolved to commence the construction works. However, construction activity was subsequently temporarily halted, firstly by the Soviet economic crisis of 1989, and then again by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Additionally, a further reason for lack of general progress had been general widespread public concern about possible ecological damage resulting from any system of flood prevention for Leningrad.(see Saint Petersburg Dam). All construction works were therefore brought completely to a halt in 1992.

The construction of the ring road was restarted in 2001 and the first section was opened to traffic on the 26th of December 2002.

In December 2007 the Northern sections of the road were opened, linking up with the Saint Petersburg Dam from Kronstadt and also connecting with the train station at Gorskaya and other Northern and Eastern elements of the motorway.

The St-Petersburg ring road includes Big Obukhovsky Bridge (the only non-raising road bridge across the main River Neva).

The Southern half of the ring road is, at present, under continuing construction.

On the 25th of November 2007 an interchange junction near to Pulkovo-2international airport was also opened and, as a direct economic result of the construction of the ring road, the price of land in the area of the ring road has increased substantally. Construction of industrial and residential areas is now planned in the vicinity.