The Central Section of the WHSD has first anniversary! Five years ago traffic was launched along the entire length of the highway
06 december 2021
News
On December 2, 2016, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the construction of the Central Section of the WHSD, a unique complex of artificial structures including seven bridges, a tunnel, a half-tunnel and overpasses, was officially completed. Two of the three longest bridges of Russia are a part of the St. Petersburg freeway! With this event the construction phase of the world's largest PPP project in the field of toll roads was completed, and the first cars drove along the entire length of the WHSD.
On the first day of operation of the Central Section, which came on Sunday, the record traffic flow ever recorded on the highway was renewed. With the opening of through traffic along the entire highway, traffic flow doubled.
The unique role of the WHSD in St. Petersburg's transportation system and the opportunities for fast, comfortable, and safe travel that have appeared for citizens have found a lively response in social networks. One of the most frequent epithets used by commentators was, "There is a teleport in the city".
Research has shown that the introduction of the WHSD made every trip in the city an average of five minutes faster. But this is an average value, including trips that have nothing to do with the WHSD, while many correspondence has become possible twice as fast or more. It has become possible to drive from north to south in 19 minutes without violating the traffic rules. Such an opportunity is unique for a metropolis of five million people. The benefits of using the WHSD have determined demand. In a cumulative five-year period, nearly half a billion transactions were made on the WHSD. Of course, servicing such traffic demanded unprecedented performance in many areas of operation. First of all, in the promotion of modern payment methods - transponders, which allow you to pass the toll booths without stopping, which increases the capacity of the traffic lanes by eight times. And such indicators have been provided.
At the moment there are almost 900 thousand transponders issued by the WHSD in use. More than 93% of trips are made with the help of electronic devices. Such figures in Russia are recorded only on the Western High-Speed Diameter.
During the concession period, NCH has invested significant funds in the re-equipment of all the transponder lanes of the WHSD, which have been equipped with the most modern equipment to enable nonstop passage through the toll booths.
It is important that a significant part of the traffic flow on the Western High-Speed Diameter is cars whose drivers have chosen this route instead of driving on the city's street and road network. One of the main goals of the expressway is to divert transit traffic from city streets, where it makes room for public transport, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Cars on the WHSD drive not in the mode of constant starts and stops of the torn city flow, but at a cruising speed, which guarantees minimum fuel consumption and, accordingly, reduction of atmospheric emissions. Thus, the WHSD contributes to the reduction of the carbon footprint of motor transport operation. Fuel use in the city is reduced by more than 75,000 liters every day, while CO2 emissions are reduced by 170 tons. State-of-the-art systems for wastewater treatment and area noise protection also minimize the impact of traffic that travels along the technological highway.
The Western High-Speed Diameter is not only about speed, but also about ensuring user comfort and safety. According to statistics, the WHSD is one of the safest highways of its class in the country, which is achieved by systematic work to ensure road safety and safety of the facility, which the relevant services conduct 24/7 during all years of the facility operation.
For five years (out of the nine years that the operator has been engaged in the operation of the WHSD) the employees of Highways Operator - North LLC:
- Road inspectors have assisted 210,000 drivers;
- Specialists of the operational department and security company detained 15.5 thousand unauthorized persons: pedestrians and cyclists, whose presence on the highway is prohibited by the traffic rules and was dangerous for them and for the people around them;
- 31.5 thousand foreign objects were removed from the roadway.
An equally important aspect of ensuring safety and comfort for users is the responsible work on the maintenance of the road, as well as the production of emergency and planned repairs. Here are some illustrative figures. In the five years that have passed since the launch of traffic along the entire length of the highway:
- Restored 960 thousand sq. m. of asphalt concrete pavement, which is similar to the asphalting of twenty Dvortsovy or forty Red squares;
- Inflicted 130 thousand sq. m. road markings;
- More than 6 thousand lighting lamps have been replaced. It should be noted that each replacement is a complex technical operation requiring the setting up of special road means enclosing the place of work, the presence of an aerial platform, the work of competent specialists;
- The WHSD operational equipment covered 8 million km. If it followed the Earth's equator, it would have circled the planet 200 times;
- More than 200 thousand cubic meters of snow were removed from the highway, which required more than 10 thousand trips of large four-axle trucks;
- Specialists of manual cleaning have spent more than a million man-hours at work.
The Western High-Speed Diameter has become not only a key element of the city's transport infrastructure, but also a new symbol of St. Petersburg. New routes for boat trips in the waters of the Gulf of Finland appeared. Bridge structures and overpasses have become a point of attraction for professional photographers and selfies lovers, as evidenced by the number of publications in social networks, for example, more than 75 thousand photos with the hashtag #zsd in Instagram, bus tours are taken on the WHSD.
In 2021, the WHSD Festival was held for the third time - a unique event in which you can visit the expressway without a car, in running shoes or on a bicycle. In the Festival was attended by over 10 thousand people, an equal number of people cheered for the athletes in the starting town and 50 thousand spectators watched what is happening in the online broadcast. It is interesting that in the framework of the second WHSD Festival there was played the real wedding of participant and participant. And at the third WHSD Fest the participants, who met at the first one, came with a baby carriage and (as an exception, with special safety measures) were given the opportunity to run the ten-kilometer distance together.
We hope that the Western High-Speed Diameter will give the citizens many more joyful events: from the daily savings of time to spend with family and friends, to bright events and unforgettable experiences.
On the first day of operation of the Central Section, which came on Sunday, the record traffic flow ever recorded on the highway was renewed. With the opening of through traffic along the entire highway, traffic flow doubled.
The unique role of the WHSD in St. Petersburg's transportation system and the opportunities for fast, comfortable, and safe travel that have appeared for citizens have found a lively response in social networks. One of the most frequent epithets used by commentators was, "There is a teleport in the city".
Research has shown that the introduction of the WHSD made every trip in the city an average of five minutes faster. But this is an average value, including trips that have nothing to do with the WHSD, while many correspondence has become possible twice as fast or more. It has become possible to drive from north to south in 19 minutes without violating the traffic rules. Such an opportunity is unique for a metropolis of five million people. The benefits of using the WHSD have determined demand. In a cumulative five-year period, nearly half a billion transactions were made on the WHSD. Of course, servicing such traffic demanded unprecedented performance in many areas of operation. First of all, in the promotion of modern payment methods - transponders, which allow you to pass the toll booths without stopping, which increases the capacity of the traffic lanes by eight times. And such indicators have been provided.
At the moment there are almost 900 thousand transponders issued by the WHSD in use. More than 93% of trips are made with the help of electronic devices. Such figures in Russia are recorded only on the Western High-Speed Diameter.
During the concession period, NCH has invested significant funds in the re-equipment of all the transponder lanes of the WHSD, which have been equipped with the most modern equipment to enable nonstop passage through the toll booths.
It is important that a significant part of the traffic flow on the Western High-Speed Diameter is cars whose drivers have chosen this route instead of driving on the city's street and road network. One of the main goals of the expressway is to divert transit traffic from city streets, where it makes room for public transport, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Cars on the WHSD drive not in the mode of constant starts and stops of the torn city flow, but at a cruising speed, which guarantees minimum fuel consumption and, accordingly, reduction of atmospheric emissions. Thus, the WHSD contributes to the reduction of the carbon footprint of motor transport operation. Fuel use in the city is reduced by more than 75,000 liters every day, while CO2 emissions are reduced by 170 tons. State-of-the-art systems for wastewater treatment and area noise protection also minimize the impact of traffic that travels along the technological highway.
The Western High-Speed Diameter is not only about speed, but also about ensuring user comfort and safety. According to statistics, the WHSD is one of the safest highways of its class in the country, which is achieved by systematic work to ensure road safety and safety of the facility, which the relevant services conduct 24/7 during all years of the facility operation.
For five years (out of the nine years that the operator has been engaged in the operation of the WHSD) the employees of Highways Operator - North LLC:
- Road inspectors have assisted 210,000 drivers;
- Specialists of the operational department and security company detained 15.5 thousand unauthorized persons: pedestrians and cyclists, whose presence on the highway is prohibited by the traffic rules and was dangerous for them and for the people around them;
- 31.5 thousand foreign objects were removed from the roadway.
An equally important aspect of ensuring safety and comfort for users is the responsible work on the maintenance of the road, as well as the production of emergency and planned repairs. Here are some illustrative figures. In the five years that have passed since the launch of traffic along the entire length of the highway:
- Restored 960 thousand sq. m. of asphalt concrete pavement, which is similar to the asphalting of twenty Dvortsovy or forty Red squares;
- Inflicted 130 thousand sq. m. road markings;
- More than 6 thousand lighting lamps have been replaced. It should be noted that each replacement is a complex technical operation requiring the setting up of special road means enclosing the place of work, the presence of an aerial platform, the work of competent specialists;
- The WHSD operational equipment covered 8 million km. If it followed the Earth's equator, it would have circled the planet 200 times;
- More than 200 thousand cubic meters of snow were removed from the highway, which required more than 10 thousand trips of large four-axle trucks;
- Specialists of manual cleaning have spent more than a million man-hours at work.
The Western High-Speed Diameter has become not only a key element of the city's transport infrastructure, but also a new symbol of St. Petersburg. New routes for boat trips in the waters of the Gulf of Finland appeared. Bridge structures and overpasses have become a point of attraction for professional photographers and selfies lovers, as evidenced by the number of publications in social networks, for example, more than 75 thousand photos with the hashtag #zsd in Instagram, bus tours are taken on the WHSD.
In 2021, the WHSD Festival was held for the third time - a unique event in which you can visit the expressway without a car, in running shoes or on a bicycle. In the Festival was attended by over 10 thousand people, an equal number of people cheered for the athletes in the starting town and 50 thousand spectators watched what is happening in the online broadcast. It is interesting that in the framework of the second WHSD Festival there was played the real wedding of participant and participant. And at the third WHSD Fest the participants, who met at the first one, came with a baby carriage and (as an exception, with special safety measures) were given the opportunity to run the ten-kilometer distance together.
We hope that the Western High-Speed Diameter will give the citizens many more joyful events: from the daily savings of time to spend with family and friends, to bright events and unforgettable experiences.
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