How to spend 4.5 trillion rubles ($71.3 billion) on road maintenance, not just cover them in asphalt? This issue was discussed today in the Kremlin at a meeting of the State Council. They discussed both federal and local highways, as well as bridges and other infrastructure. Vladimir Putin reminded them of what ideal Russian roads should look like. Safety is the top priority.
Hidden cameras, governors who never visit the back-country, and confiscating cars of those driving under the influence are the topics of a report by Denis Davydov.
Roads are not just one of the problems in Russia, it's a huge problem that has been even mentioned in literature. We've been failing to solve it for centuries. It's no wonder that a separate national project dedicated to safe and high-quality roads is being discussed at the highest level. By coincidence, all of the roads in the Kremlin's Georgievsky Hall today led to Gennady Zyuganov. Each of 110 participants approached him to shake his hand. The all-time leader of Russian communists celebrates his jubilee. Here's the president coming with a gift. It's Gennady Andreevich Zyuganov's anniversary.
Vladimir Putin: "Before we start, I'd like to congratulate him on his jubilee: he's turning 75 years old. He joined the Communist Party, as far as we remember, in 1966. The party's 23rd Congress was that same year".
MATERIALS OF THE 23RD CONGRESS
- To remind you of the events of that time, I’d like to give you…
Vladimir Putin also reminded everyone of the recent Direct Line. The president received an avalanche of questions on the main subject-matter of this State Council: roads, or, to be precise, complaints on their poor state or even complete absence.
Vladimir Putin: "I've watched a lot of materials from the regions, from all over the country. It's clear that you never have enough money for everything. But if the work is organized properly, in the right manner, many things can be evidently avoided. You know, sometimes I watch video materials, photo materials, and the question arises, "Has the governor ever been there? Has he ever seen these sites?" Many of these things — I'm absolutely sure as I've worked in the regions myself— don't require much effort. They only require your attention, proper planning, and on-time reaction to these issues".
High-quality roads transform the quality of life in a region: it starts to develop. In Amur Oblast, they're renovating a 20-mile long access-way to the bridge that connects Blagoveshchensk to Heihe in China. It's being done to increase cargo traffic with China. Special machines give new life to old asphalt. They're processing it right on-site, producing a ready-made blend for spreading.
This is Belgorod, where the roads are being covered in new cutting-edge asphalt. There's a 10-year guarantee for the covering, and the noise is minimal.
Vladimir Putin: “Everyone understands that having roads is good, while not having roads is bad. But, unfortunately, some don't understand that having roads in our country — having good and high-quality roads most of all - is something especially significant and crucial, bearing in mind the enormous size of our territory. The connectedness of the territory, good ties between municipalities and entities, is extremely important for both the economy and the social well-being of our citizens.”
There are no complaints about the federal roads: over 80% of them are compliant with the regulations.
But there are also municipal and, most importantly, remote back-country roads. This is where you often can neither walk nor drive.
Sergey Neverov, Deputy Chairman: "Today, we can see the increase in quality in the federal-scale routes. No doubt, we need to further develop this network. Just recently, I made a turn just 150 miles from Moscow: there was a four-mile strip of asphalt and then there was nothing but a field. Yet, there should have been a road according to my GPS".
Igor Babushkin, Astrakhan Oblast: "The Roads in Astrakhan Oblast, I think, leave much to be desired. We are to make around 400 miles of regional roads compliant with the regulations".
One-fifth of the funds allocated to all of the national projects are to be spent on roads. Altogether, the federal and regional budgets will spend over 4.5 trillion rubles ($71.3 billion). It takes a while to recognize the governors in those uniformed people.
That's how they prepared themselves to hold the meeting dedicated to this severe issue. Under the supervision of road maintenance workers, the politicians themselves covered in asphalt a 200-yard strip of a road in Solnechnogorsk, outside of Moscow.
Yevgeny Dietrich, Minister of Transport: "Many of the head of the regions said, "As soon as we come back home, we'll teach the municipality heads a lesson so that they'll start following the procedures all the way through".
Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of Chechen Republic: "I'm a natural-born builder. I love building, I pay attention to the roads at home. They're all good, high-quality roads. If I start interfering, the quality will decrease. We'd better create the right conditions for the road maintenance authorities so that they do their job well".
The leader of the LDPR reacted to the road issue in his own style. According to Zhirinovsky, transportation has both economic and demographic importance. All we have to do is launch a new type of railway car.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky: "We need train cars for lonely people. Our country is vast, people can use those two to ten days to make new acquaintances. We have a demographic problem; many lonely people can't find their soul-mates. I've fallen in love three times in my life. All of them happened on a train because you have nothing to do there except sit and look at the other passengers. And you don't have to run anywhere, it's the calmest environment".
The heads of the regions where the implementation of the national project is stalled had their nerves stirred. With 106 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) allocated, it's time to sign contracts, but some regional authorities are stalling. The government is threatening to redistribute the funds: the slow ones may lose them to those who are actively building.
Dmitry Medvedev: "I'd like all of the heads of the regions to hear me out. The curators of the national projects are entitled to redistribute the funds. And in this respect, they should do it".
The national project is dedicated to both high-quality and safe roads. They will decrease the road accident mortality rate by three times. Fatal accidents happen due to violations of the speed limits. Speed cameras help people use the brakes: they see everything. But drivers should also be able to see them.
Vladimir Putin: "The reason why they are installed, my dear colleagues—I'd like to be heard both here and on the other side of the Kremlin's walls - is decreasing the rates of accidents and injuries on the roads, saving people's lives. Those cameras shouldn't be hidden on purpose, especially on hazardous strips of road. In this case, we encounter a direct substitution of the purpose of these measures. Instead of being taught how to follow the regulations, they're just being made to pay the fine. But it's not what we aim for. It's just a means of achieving the result we need. I urge you to settle this matter".
Alexander Beglov, Saint Petersburg: "We were given the task to make the cameras warn people of the hazardous spots instead of using them for collecting fines. Therefore, that's how we're going to solve these issues. We'll ensure the safety of driving on our roads".
The Ministry of Internal Affairs proposes to monitor fine-paying by foreign drivers in order to close the Russian border to notorious non-payers. Another tough measure is a penalty for those driving under the influence.
Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of Internal Affairs: "We're proposing confiscating the vehicles belonging to the drivers who have been arrested for driving under the influence".
Another reason for high accident risk is poor lighting on highways. In thirteen federation subjects, there are no streetlights on the road in populated localities.
Vladimir Putin: "It's our big problem, to be honest. Outside of urban agglomerations, almost all of the roads are inky dark. And the problem here is not just ill-developed infrastructure. Another problem — we have to be honest about it — is an objective funds deficit. Night-time electric rates are quite high. Due to this forced measure for saving money, unfortunately, accidents and tragedies often happen. The liability for this situation lays on the energy authorities, the heads of the regions, and the government as a whole. I'm urging everyone — everyone I've mentioned now, without exception - to immediately join their efforts to solve the issue of the cost of lighting the roads".
The State Council heard a proposal for building roads with a guarantee for the entire exploitation term. In the case of potholes forming, the contractor would fill them at its own expense instead of at the budget's. It's an effective measure which will help cure Russia's eternal problem.
Denis Davydov, Irina Vinogradova, Irina Kharlamova, Yuliya Shchedrova, Viktor Vinogradov, and Konstantin Rodin, Vesti.
