M20 highway has other names: official - Pskov highway (R-23) or philistine - Kievskoe highway. Sometimes the name is reduced to a somewhat incorrect "Peter - Pskov highway". The M20 has the status of a federal road and is part of the E95 international route, which begins in St. Petersburg, passes through the Belarusian Vitebsk and Gomel, Ukrainian Chernigov, Kiev, Odessa and ends in 3770 kilometers in the Turkish city of Merzifon.
Route in the Russian Federation
Within Russia , the M20 highway crosses the Leningrad and Pskov regions, has a length of 533 kilometers and follows the following route: St. Petersburg (0 km) - Gatchina (38 km) - Luga (132 km) - Pskov (258 km) - Island (336 km) - Opochka (410 km) - Pustoshka (472 km) - Nevel (521 km) - the border with Belarus, the border crossing "Lobok" (533 km). It should be noted that the road is equipped with modern detours around Pskov, the Islands and Gatchina, so there is no need for motorists to go through these settlements.
Highway Characteristics
Almost along the entire length of the M20 highway St. Petersburg - Pskov has asphalt concrete pavement, 7 meters wide and two lanes. Only a few tens of kilometers when leaving St. Petersburg and to the Gatchina detour there is a six-lane traffic, three in both directions. But even this modern stretch of road sometimes does not cope with the flow of cars on Sunday and Friday, when traffic rises several times due to tourists and townspeople resting from the exhausting bustle of the metropolis.
The M20 highway is located in a belt with a mild temperate continental climate, in which sharp temperature drops and extreme temperatures are rare. According to drivers, on the way from Luga to St. Petersburg there are sections in a very unsatisfactory condition. Motorists lurk potholes, bumps, bumps. After the Luga and up to the Belarusian border, coverage is better, but there are more and more truckers who are cluttering the highway and complicating overtaking.
Highway M20 reconstruction
It will not be difficult to find schemes and plans for past and future work to develop and improve the road. At the moment, two large-scale reconstructions have been carried out, which are primarily aimed at reducing the transport load on North Palmyra.
In the period from 2007 to 2011, the highway was expanded from two to six lanes in the section from the turn to Pushkin and to the settlement of Doni. In addition to expansion and new pavement, the road on this section was equipped with a road to the Lesnoye settlement, with additional interchanges with the Rekhkolovsky and Volkhonsky highways, overhead and underground passages. All these innovations have given the European appearance of the federal highway M20.
The reconstruction of 2014-2017 affected the Doni section - the Gatchina detour. She started the route bypassing the settlements of Vaya, Izhora and Zaitsevo, and the road was expanded and three interchanges, two overpasses and a viaduct over the railroads were built.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of the M20 highway St. Petersburg:
• Cost . The driver will have to pay only for fuel, there are no paid sections on the highway.
• Convenience and speed. This is the closest way from St. Petersburg to Belarus and Ukraine. If you avoid traffic jams at the exit from St. Petersburg and high traffic of a trucker, then you can get to the Belarusian border without much haste in 7-8 hours.
• Beautiful views and attractions. Outside the window runs true Central Russian nature, with its successive forests, fields, lakes and rivers. Near the highway there are several interesting cities with unique monuments, so you can combine a pleasant trip with informative and useful tourism.
• A lot of gas stations, parking lots, cafes, overpasses and roadside hotels .
Disadvantages of M20:
• The highway crosses many settlements , it is constantly necessary to slow down.
• Quality . There are several areas with frankly poor coverage.
• Narrowness . Seven meter wide and two lanes are sometimes not enough for a comfortable ride, especially near cities and when approaching the border, where there are many heavy vehicles. Overtaking is sometimes very difficult, the driver must constantly be careful, with the onset of a snowy winter, the situation becomes even more complicated.
sights
Throughout the entire route of the M20 highway , travelers have the opportunity to diversify the monotonous road by visiting interesting places. Some of them are pearls of the historical heritage of Russia, some are unlikely to go on purpose, but it’s very useful to see them while passing by.
38th kilometer - Gatchina. The Grand Palace and the huge palace park located nearby, with ponds, palaces, sculptures, are required to visit here. The city has the largest temple in the region - the Cathedral of the Virgin.
132nd kilometer - Meadows. The Catholic Cathedral of St. Nicholas and the Partisanam Memorial, which is located on the 135th kilometer of the M20.
154th kilometer - Gorodets. Temple of the Assumption; Holy spring; chapel with healing relics of St. Tryphan.
193rd kilometer - Dilapidated Fiofilova Desert, but it is visited by Christian pilgrims.
258th kilometer - Pskov. The symbol of the city is the ancient Kremlin with the Trinity Cathedral in it. Snetogorsky and Mirozhsky operating monasteries. Temple of A. Nevsky. Monument dedicated to the Battle of the Ice, but it is located slightly away from the M20.
336th kilometer - Island. Chain bridges built in the mid-18th century; Trinity Cathedral; Church of St. Nicholas.
Helpful information
There are several sections on the M20 highway that require concentrated attention from drivers at any time of the day: the 49th, 177th, 480th kilometers - limited visibility; 177th kilometer - both a sharp turn and a steep descent; 120th kilometer - a sharp turn; 138th kilometer - stationary traffic police post.
There are many cafes and gas stations on the highway, the distance between them rarely exceeds 20 kilometers, so the driver is unlikely to remain hungry or without fuel. Those wishing to stay overnight will find hotels in Gatchina, Luga, Pskov, Ostrov, as well as on the 53rd, 77th, 235th and 286th kilometers of the route. There are no problems with entering Belarus, usually drivers pass it without queues and searches. But car owners should be psychologically reorganized upon entering another country, because the behavior and requirements of Belarusian traffic cops are different from the requirements of their Russian colleagues, there are also differences in traffic rules.