Photo by most.life
The construction of the 19-kilometer bridge to Crimea will cost Russia a vast deal of money.
Financing the project may result in the end to constructing new roads throughout Russia itself, Yevgeny Pristash, Head of Zabaikalye Department of Roads, warns. According to the official, in 2017 the authorities plan to build only 10 (!) road facilities within the entire country.
“One should keep in mind that the Crimean Bridge is not only an extraordinary facility in the field of roads and bridges. It is second to none not only in Russia but in the whole world. Therefore, it is obvious that the best part of funds is allocated to its construction. In view of this, the building of motorways in Russia has been practically suspended. [Documents for] only ten new facilities have been submitted this year,” Pristash said.
The calculation is simple: almost all funds go to the bridge over the Strait of Kerch. According to recent estimates, it will cost 228 bn Russian rubles. In 2016, the federal road budget for road amounted to 614 bn, and regions spent over 700 bn on the maintenance of existing roads.
The Zabaikalye Territory authorities were going to implement five road projects; however, now they seem to be shelved.
“The country has no money. Therefore, we cannot implement everything we want,” Yevgeny Pristash admits.
Belsat.eu, following zab.ru
