Rustam Minnikhanov: ‘We live in troubled times — there must be frontage roads’
Will the bypass of Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny become part of the M12 and whether the road will be toll?
The construction of a bypass of Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny, a future alternative to the most problematic section of the M7 federal highway, is reaching the finish line. The launching of superstructurestook place on the bridge over the Kama River near the village of Kosteneevo on 8 August. From here, the access to M12 highway opens in the direction to Ufa and Tyumen, and two industrial centres — Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk — are to get a second direct entry. “Until now, they could not even close the entrance highway (the hydroelectric dam) for repairs, otherwise they would have to go bypassing Chistopol," Rustam Minnikhanov, the rais of Tatarstan, reminded journalists. In general, the construction of the bypass will cost 79 billion rubles allocated under the Safe high-quality roads national project. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
It is better seen from the top
The automobile bridge over the Kama River is the main link of the highway under construction to bypass Zakamye, a frontage road of M7 federal highway. By the time the rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, and the head of Rosavtodor, Roman Novikov, arrived, almost everything was ready for the joining of the counter superstructures. The last step had to be taken — to move the remaining short distance, one might say, a symbolic gap. After all, four days before that, the specialists of Mostootryad 41 of the Roads and Bridges division of Natsproektstroy Construction Group had moved the superstructure to the final 94 metres, performing a complex operation in a working environment.
And yet, how bridges are connected could be seen on the banks of the Kama River that day. The last chord played here. The longitudinal launching was carried out using two-tonne jacks — they connected about 11 thousand tonnes of metal at a height of supports of 60 metres. The docking went unnoticed — no noise, no rumble, even flags did not move. Someone shouted from above: “Done!”, after which the guests applauded. It would seem that it was ready, and it was possible to leave for a scheduled meeting with the head of Rosavtodor. But Rustam Minnikhanov and Roman Novikov, surrounded by contractors, moved forward and began to climb up the work ladder and walked around almost the entire bridge. It looked like work was being accepted from the top.
The general contractor was the Russian company Dorogi i Mosty (Dim), with which a state contract for 23 billion rubles was concluded.
The bypass is to be completed ahead of schedule — by the end of the year
Going down, the head of Rosavtodor Roman Novikov and Rustam Minnikhanov praised the bridge builders for being ahead of schedule.
“According to the schedule, the launching was supposed to take place in November, but it was carried out in August," Roman Novikov told reporters. “Moreover, the bridges began to waterproofing the metal coating in parallel with the launching. So we expect to complete the works by November. As Rustam Minnikhanov said, the bridge builders worked very well, the whole complex is to start operation as a whole this year," Novikov promised.
In turn, Rustam Minnikhanov expressed gratitude to the country's leadership for the implementation of two infrastructure projects in road construction in Tatarstan — M12 and the bypass of Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk.
“We live in troubled times — there must be frontage roads," he stated.
He also recalled that before that there was a whole problem to get to Naberezhnye Chelny and Nizhnekamsk, since the only way through the hydroelectric dam was constantly overloaded:
“We couldn't even close the highway for repairs, as we would have to make a detour through Chistopol," said the rais.
After launching the bypass, a second direct route opens to two industrial centers of the republic. “So it's not only federal tasks that are being solved here," Minnikhanov noted.
A bridge with a height difference from 60 to 8 metres
The 1.3 km long bridge is being built on the bypass of Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny within the framework of the Safe high-quality roads national project. Currently, its readiness is 85%, that is, 20 billion rubles have been disbursed, said the head of the Volga-Vyatskuprdor Federal State Institution, Ildar Mingazov, during a tour with Minnikhanov and Novikov.
The bridge connects the villages of Kotlovka and Ilyinka. The structure stands on 22 pillars, 15 of them will enter the main part of the overpass, and seven pillars will support the bridge over the Kama riverbed. Their height in the channel part of the bridge from the bottom of the grillage to the top of the head is from 37.8 to 46.2 m. The over-water length of the bridge is a single all-metal structure with a length of 706 m, assembled from 65 blocks. Specialists started the enlarged assembly of the metal blocks of the bridge superstructure in June 2023. In 14 months, the bridge builders assembled a structure weighing more than 11,000 tonnes and pushed it onto the bridge supports.
The launching was in several stages (from 7 to 1 bridge channel pier), as the superstructure was assembled. The first stage was completed in September 2023. Installation was performed using the longitudinal launching method, when the spans are moved horizontally strictly along the axis of the bridge. The bridges push the metal structure with the help of 32 vertical jacks and two hydraulic cylinders with a maximum force of 1000 tonnes as load push devices.
Each subsequent stage of the launching was more difficult than the previous one. The overcoming passage is getting longer, the number of supports involved in the launching process has increased. Today, bridge builders have moved the superstructure onto the first over-water pillar of the bridge. In the near future, specialists are beginning the next important stage — putting the superstructure onto the supports. This is a laborious process that is to be completed in October 2024.
Haven't forgotten about ice
As with all artificial structures, an automated system is planned to be introduced for spraying the coating with anti-icing materials. The project is currently undergoing examination, Ildar Mingazov said during the tour.
In response to a questioning look from Minnikhanov, he assured that spraying would start working simultaneously with the commencement of service. Four traffic lanes are to be laid here, each with a width of 3.75 m. The speed is 120 km/h.
Will a toll be introduced?
The main question that remained unresolved: will there be a toll on the frontage road? Until now, it was believed that it would become part of the Moscow-Kazan- Yekaterinburg high-speed route (M7). However, representatives of Rosavtodor reported that the bypass will be part of the M12 highway, for which, as you know, motorists will have to pay. Moreover, the M12 includes a segment of the path from the village of Shali to Kosteneevo, which leads to a bypass.
However, no final decision has been made on this matter, according to the interlocutors of Realnoe Vremya. But there are similar precedents. So the bypass through Tolyatti in the Samara region is to be paid. However, it was built on PPP terms.
Nizhnekamsk bypass was funded under the Safe high-quality roads national project, the total cost of the entire project is 79 billion rubles, said the head of the Volga-Vyatskuprdor Federal State Budgetary Institution, Ildar Mingazov. It plans to build two transport interchanges — at the entrance and exit from Nizhnekamsk, from where it will be possible to exit onto the M12 highway towards Ufa and Tyumen.