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Federal Minister Asks New Ural Plenipotentiary Representative Zhogu to Solve Long-standing Problem
Federal Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit instructed the new Ural Plenipotentiary Representative Artem Zhoga to deal with roadside infrastructure. Many areas lack gas stations and rest areas, and small businesses are reluctant to enter these areas. Zhoga quickly responded to Starovoit's proposals and also discovered similar problems himself. As URA.RU correspondents reported, this issue was discussed separately from the "Road" exhibition in Yekaterinburg.
"It is the power of the subjects [to develop roadside infrastructure], especially municipalities. We, as a governing body, are ready to approve the adjoining [of land to the highway], but in principle the land itself is municipal. And the task of local authorities is to find small businesses ready to enter this site to open cafes, gas stations under a franchise. Therefore, Artem Vladimirovich, we can contact you. Here [in the Ural region] there are important public transport routes that will help us find a connection with local small and medium businesses that will help us in this matter," Starovoit said.
Zhoga agreed to this. He arrived in Yekaterinburg on October 4, during which time he visited not only the Sverdlovsk region, but also the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions. "The distances [between residential buildings] are too long, and there are not enough gas stations. Sometimes you want to stop and rest, but there is nowhere to rest. Of course, I agree," the plenipotentiary replied.
This issue is especially relevant during the construction of the M-12 Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg highway. The Sverdlovsk section was promised to open by the end of 2024, but there is still insufficient service capacity. Many people postpone the development of roadside businesses due to prohibitively high costs. As Uralupravtodor responded to URA.RU at the end of 2023, farmers adjacent to the highway will have to create temporary express lanes, the cost of which is estimated at tens of millions of rubles. This has led to the closure of some services and rest areas.