‘Our residents have waited long enough’: nearly 20 bn rub allocated for road work in Kazan
A total of 170 road sections will be repaired — more than half of them are located in rural settlements
Reconstruction of 90 roads planned in 40 settlements of the city
Nearly 20 billion rubles will be allocated for road work in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. The majority of funds will be spent on repairing worn-out road layers, improving roads as part of the Our Yard program, and repairing intra-block passages. Other planned activities include improving road safety, marking roads leading to garden associations, patching up potholes, and more. This was announced by Igor Kulyazhev, the deputy head of Kazan's Executive Committee, during the Business Monday session at the Kazan City Hall.
According to him, the repair of 170 road sections is planned. As part of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, sections with a total length of 7 km will be reconstructed.
Additionally, the Romanovsky Bridge over the Bulak Canal and the overpass on Dostoevsky Street will be renovated. It is worth noting that due to major repairs, the Romanovsky Bridge has been closed since April 15 and will remain closed until August 30.
An additional 27 road sections will have their top layer of asphalt replaced, Kulyazhev added. These include roads on Kremlovskaya and the 3rd Transport Dam, as well as on Gaya Isaaki, Sibgat Khakim, Ulyanova-Lenina, Pushkina, Gorkogo, Tazi Gizzata, Parizhskoy Kommuny, Dekabristov, Gvardeyskaya, Aivazovsky, Richarda Zorge, Pavlyukhina, Novo-Davlikeyevskaya, Sedova, 1st Kaliningradskaya, Rakhmatullina, Vasylchennko, Chishmyale, Dostoevsky, Adel Kutuya, Serova, and also the road along Mamadyshsky Trakt, Ibragimov Avenue, Pobedy Avenue, and Orenburgsky Trakt. The total area of the planned repairs will exceed 1 million square metres.
As part of the street and road network renovation, 22 road sections covering more than 1 million square meters will be updated. Additionally, 90 roads in 40 rural settlements are set to be reconstructed.
“We are also addressing the issue of providing access roads to garden associations. This year, work will continue on repairing roads leading to the gardening associations Ostrovok, Mechta, Ivushka, Tabigat, Avtomobilist, 50 Years of Victory, and several others in the Privolzhsky District. The cost of the work is 26 million rubles," the speaker reported.
“We are receiving the funds we've long dreamed of”
The authorities of Kazan will continue restoring street lighting in rural settlements, with lighting planned for 400 streets, added Igor Kulyazhev. Streetlights will also be installed on 68 road sections and sidewalks where they were previously absent. Notably, this includes sections of Galiaskar Kamal Street, Dorochnaya Street in the Nagorny settlement, and the road near the Powder Factory.
Marking road lines over an area of 400,000 square meters will cost 450 million rubles. So far, 22% of the total work has been completed. As part of the Our Yard program, 464 courtyards in Kazan will be upgraded — over 590,000 square metres of asphalt will be replaced in these areas.
“The special feature of this year's road program is that we are finally receiving the funds we've long dreamed of," said Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin. “Out of the 170 sections scheduled for major repairs, 90 are located in suburban settlements.”
He noted that last year, 8.5 km of roads across 13 sections were repaired. This year, the total will reach 43 km.
“Year after year, this issue was raised both in our annual sessions and in meetings with our residents. We have consistently presented it to the republic's leadership. <...> Finally, both we and our residents have waited long enough," Metshin expressed with satisfaction.
He emphasised that residents of Kazan should feel like city dwellers regardless of where they live. “We incorporated areas with dirt roads, without a general plan, and without defined boundaries. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to build sidewalks or find a consensus on where to place a trash bin," the mayor lamented.
Over 45k families in Kazan have received housing through social mortgage program in 20 years
“The second component of quality of life is housing. For many public sector employees, the only way to improve their living conditions is through social mortgage," admitted the mayor of the city.
Over 45,000 Kazan families have received housing through this program over the past 20 years, reported Ruslan Gilfanov, acting head of the Housing Policy Department. A total of 264 buildings have been constructed for them, offering 45,600 apartments with a total area of more than 2.6 million square meters. This year, more than 300 families currently on the waiting list at the city executive committee will become homeowners.
Since 2006, 1,684 participants of the Great Patriotic War and their family members have received housing. A total of 1.6 billion rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for this purpose. “I am proud to report that all veterans and their family members who were recognised as needing improved living conditions have been provided with housing," said Ruslan Gilfanov.
This year, two widows of Great Patriotic War participants received subsidies to purchase housing. The total amount of government support was 10.2 million rubles. Additionally, 15 families of participants in the special military operation have moved into new apartments. Another 10 families are still waiting for new homes.