The country is accelerating, with travel time between Minsk and Gomel now under three hours by car, travelling at speeds of up to 120km/h (20 km/h less for heavy vehicles). The regional centre in the south-east is the third, after Brest and Mogilev, to be directly connected with the capital by motorway. After the reconstructed section between Bobruisk and Zhlobin was launched on the eve of Independence Day the new four-lane highway became fully operational.
Section of new Minsk-Gomel highway
Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said, at the official opening ceremony, that good roads are the hallmark of any country, providing clear evidence of dynamic state development. He asserted, “This motorway has a great future. Its launch will allow double or triple the traffic to make use of the road; the speed of vehicles should rise by a third, with significant economic effect. Transit volumes should grow by 35 percent, while travelling between Minsk and Gomel should become a great deal more comfortable and safe.
Belarusian drivers are used to seeing speed limits of 120km/h, this being the normative speed allowed on most of the Minsk-Mogilev motorway, and on the second ring road. It is also the norm along several segments of the M-1 from Brest to the Russian border and its branch road to Minsk, as well as on segments from Minsk to Grodno, Vitebsk and Molodechno, and on the road to the airport.
Grodno remains one of the few major cities unconnected with the capital by a first category four-lane road, but this should be remedied by 2018. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, works are scheduled to launch in August, with almost 160km reconstructed, from the Oshmyany interchange to Vilnius, to Shchuchin.
By Dmitry Ampilov
