Three months back, on December 21, 2023, Russia's President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the traffic along the entire M-12 "Vostok" Highway from Moscow to Kazan. The demand for the new route among motorists keeps growing: since the motorway opening, users have already made 5,327,581 trips down the M-12 Highway.
The most popular section of the M-12 Highway among motorists is Balashikha Bypass in Moscow Region. On average, about 22,000 cars per day are spotted there, and on peak days, over 42,000 cars daily. The second place belongs to the section spanning from the Central Ring Road to Orekhovo-Zuevo. On average, up to 17,000 cars run across it each day. The third place in the ranking of the most demanded parts of the expressway is secured by two sections at once, Orekhovo-Zuevo — Petushki and Elektrougli — the Central Ring Road. About 13,000 cars are registered on each of them on a daily basis.
The M-12 Highway has allowed to relieve one of the most congested motorways in this country — the M-7 "Volga" Federal Highway. With the opening of traffic along the M-12 Highway, the route from Moscow to Kazan was halved. There are no traffic lights, at-grade intersections with other roads or pedestrian crossings along the entire 810 km of the new highway.
The M-12 "Vostok" Highway from Moscow to Kazan was built as part of the "Upgrading of Transport Infrastructure" national project in record-breaking time — in just three years. This roadway will become the key part of the 12,000 km long Rossiya high-speed transport route, spanning from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok.
However, the M-12 Highway is not only a vital transit corridor, but also a high-speed connection of cities located in the gravitational zone of the highway that provides an opportunity for local residents to quickly get to their families, places of work and recreation. It is also a powerful impetus for the development of the adjacent territories: the regions attract more investments, the tourist flow grows, new enterprises and jobs are created.
Implementation of the M-12 "Vostok" Highway megaproject carries on: by the end of this year it will be possible to use it to reach Yekaterinburg, and in 2025, Tyumen.
