MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. A new road connecting Salekhard and Nadym is opened for traffic in the Yamalo-Nenets Region. The new road will provide new opportunities for economic development of the region’s western districts, Yamal’s Governor Dmitri Artyukhov said at the opening ceremony.
The road of 344 km crosses swampy areas. Earlier, in winter time, for a maximum of 131 days, the only driving route was passable when the soil froze naturally. However in muddy seasons and in summer there was no ground communication at all.
"People, living in the western districts, have been waiting for long. Well, over all these years, we have got used to the so-called ice roads. At the same time, we all understand how they have changed lately. The climate has become warmer, and instead of a usual December when the ice road is supposed to be passable, last year, as you can remember, the official ice road opening was in January. It was very inconvenient, people had to adjust their plans accordingly," the governor said.
He pointed to the new road’s economic effect. "Those are completely different opportunities for the businesses. People, living in the western districts, can see how the situation changes, how new retail companies come to work there. I hope, this will entail a higher quality of offered products," he added.
According to the regional government’s press service, the new road may be used by any vehicles. The travel time is three times shorter: driving on the ice road took up to 15 hours, and now the distance may be covered within 4-5 hours, the press service told TASS.
New opportunities for businesses
Big retailers experienced difficulties in coming to the region due to the absence of a road between the west and the east. According to the press service, a leading retailer, Pyaterochka, plans to enter the local market. A few shops will begin working before the year ends.
The Nyda-Resource Company, making semi-finished products from venison, fish and wild crops, expects new supplies and clients. The company plans to supply its products to Salekhard, which was out of the question without a reliable transport connection.
The road
The project was initiated in 2005, and the construction started in 2011. The road’s 344 kilometers feature 53 bridges and 46 deer crossings, the government said. More than one million trucks brought soil and asphalt-concrete mix. Four million square meters of crushed stone was laid.
In 2010, Urengoidorstroy (a construction company) won a tender to build the Nadym-Salekhard road. In February 2010, road section manager Misha Sevanovich, together with a geodesist and a few clients, went deep into the tundra to determine the centerline.
"On February 7, a convoy started from Novo-Urengoi towards Nadym. For three days, we, together with heavy vehicles and trailers, got to the 52nd kilometer, where we were to organize a camp. We got there at night and measured the distance with steps. The snow was more than one meter deep. We had a snack and went to sleep. In the morning, we realized that our measures were incorrect by 17 meters and we had to measure everything again," Sevanovich said.
In 2011, February was a cold month. The air temperatures dropped to minus 45 degrees Celsius, but they had to work every day.
Taking a pause
The road’s construction is underway, since a section of 183 kilometers has still been covered with a layer of crushed stone. This pause is necessary to continue studies, and the road will "settle" until constructors and scientists decide which is the most suitable way to lay the solid coating.
Governor Dmitry Artyukhov pointed to the climate warming and to the thawing and shifting permafrost. "The road under crushed stone should settle for a year or two. Thus, before laying asphalt, specialists will try to find out the local specifics. The road will have the final layer, of course, but specialists insist on a pause for a year or two to have a thorough monitoring to identify alarming spots and to reinforce them," he said.
The Yamalo-Nenets Region was established in 1930. Its territory mostly lies north of the Arctic circle, and the other part is on the slope of the Urals ridge. The climate is cold. Some areas have perennially frozen soils. The cold Kara Sea is nearby. Winters last for up to eight months (whereas in the Arctic and sub-Arctic zones they are no longer than 68 days).