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Toll road connecting Russia’s two largest cities to be unveiled next week — source

The route from Moscow to St. Petersburg via the new highway is expected to take about 5.5 hours or less

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The M11 highway, a toll road linking the capital Moscow with the second largest city of St. Petersburg, will be opened next week, a source close to the Russian Ministry of Transport told TASS on Thursday.

"The construction of the M11 Moscow - St. Petersburg highway has been fully completed. Its opening will take place in a week," the source said.

Earlier it was reported that the construction of the last sector of the highway — a section between the 646th and 684th kilometers in St. Petersburg and the adjacent Leningrad Region — had been completed. Right now, preparations are underway to launch traffic, the Avtodor state company informed.

The M11 highway originates at the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD) that encircles the Russian capital, connecting it with the St. Petersburg Ring Road. It runs mostly parallel to the existing M10 Rossiya highway, and crosses it in several locations.

It spans 669 kilometers. The construction began in 2012.

The Russian Highways State Company (Avtodor), a state-owned highway service firm, said it would cost about 2,000 rubles ($31) for cars to travel along the entire route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, which is expected to take about 5.5 hours or less.

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