The M-7 highway is a federal highway that goes through such large cities as Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Kazan and Vladimir. Also, the road passes with entrances to a number of other cities, and part of the European route E22 refers to E017.
Despite the fact that the Sibir, Irtysh, Amur and Baikal routes are extensions of the M-5, it is M-7 that is considered to be the main road connecting the Far East with the European part of Russia, since it provides the shortest way from Moscow to the eastern regions.
basic information
This highway starts in the east of the capital, from the intersection of the Enthusiasts and MKAD highways, but it is worth noting that all distances are measured from the center of Moscow. In the future , the M-7 highway passes through the Vladimir, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as the republics of Chuvashia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Its total length is 1351 kilometers.
In addition, as part of the highway there are also various access roads to:
- Ivanov, the length is 101 km;
- Cheboksaram, west entrance - 11 km, east - 3 km;
- Izhevsk, the length reaches 165 km;
- Perm, length 294 km.
It is also worth noting that the M-7 highway includes the 54 km Southern Bypass of Vladimir, as well as Nizhny Novgorod, which is 16 km long.
The road itself passes through a slightly hilly area, and in some sections there are steppe and wooded areas. The temperature conditions on this road are often exactly the same, and in January the average temperature is -10 , and in July - +20 .
For a long time, the project for extending the highway was hatched, and it had to go from Ufa through the Zhukovsky interchange with the M-5 highway, as well as through the villages of Taptykovo, Berezovka, Zhukovo, Bulgakovo and further through Kartaly to the Russian border with Kazakhstan. As a result, the M-7 Volga highway was never developed, because the project was not approved due to the existence of the Mezhgorye ZATO, although they nevertheless built up the project trace area in the Zhukovskaya interchange area.
Moscow region
Through the Vladimir and Moscow regions, this route passes through the plains of swamps located in the Meshchera lowland. Various waterways that were changed during the construction process, as well as relatively high humidity, negatively affect the condition of the Volga M-7 highway. Within the boundaries of the region, the road is quite straight, and the 52nd km located under the A-107 overpass and not having any strong longitudinal slopes can be called the only exception. It is also worth noting that the road here passes through a fairly large number of settlements and traffic lights.
Almost throughout the territory on which the M-7 highway runs, the direction has at least four lanes, with each of them having a width of more than 3.5 meters. Over the entire section, the road has an improved asphalt concrete pavement, and in most hazardous and high-speed sections it is also equipped with an axial fence. In the period from 2005 to 2007, major work was also carried out on the overwhelming majority of overpasses and bridges, and from 2006 to 2008, interchanges were also built on the 52nd km of the track. From May to June 2008, the coverage of the section from the 68th to the 79th km was restored, and in the autumn, the bridge located on the 86th km was also repaired.
In 2009, it was decided to repair the coating, as well as to install an axial fence on the 33-37th km section, and at the end of the year it was decided to also put in specialized cameras for recording violations in especially dangerous areas. In 2010, axial guards and an additional chamber stand located at 66 km were also installed.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that the state of the M-7 highway is constantly updated and modernized. In 2012, they made a large-scale improvement in the lighting system, and also set up traffic lights equipped with a specialized time meter, and in the next one built an elevated pedestrian crossing.
sights
As mentioned above, there are many significant places near which the M-7 highway is located. The destination includes the following attractions:
- The estate of the princes Golitsyn, which is located in Balashikha.
- The house in which Sergei Fedorovich Pankratov lived, which is a unique manifestation of personal creativity.
- The Assumption Church, located in the village of Bogoslovo, on the 64th kilometer of the way.
Vladimir region
The pokilometer diagram of the M-7 Volga highway shows that in the Vladimir Region the road is in many ways different from the Moscow one in that it runs along a more rugged relief, which implies the presence of a greater number of longitudinal slopes and bends, which can complicate the movement.
The site, which runs from the border of the Vladimir region to Vladimir himself, includes a fragment with four-lane traffic. In this section, the construction of the M-7 bypass route was carried out in such a way that the dividing barriers along the axis are found only periodically, with the traffic intensity at this interval being approximately 40,000 vehicles per day. Due to the fact that the track is notable for its rather high workload and insufficient arrangement, traffic is intense along it, and periodically quite dangerous, especially in adverse weather conditions.
The southern bypass of the city of Vladimir, which has a length of 54 km, has only two-lane traffic on the first fifteen kilometers, and the further section already has four lanes with a normal dividing line. It is worth noting that you can drive to Nizhny Novgorod through the Southern Bypass of Vladimir, which was opened in 2001. You can also do this along the old section of the highway, passing directly through Vladimir from the north. It is worth noting that its length is approximately 2 kilometers less compared to the Southern Bypass. After the M-7 highway was repaired, 15 traffic lights appeared on it, and as a result, traffic jams during peak hours can be seen. Special attention should be paid to the fact that from the 193rd to the 222nd kilometer the road has only two lanes.
Further, in the Vladimir region, the path passes along a fairly satisfactory four-lane highway, often having dividing barriers (not including some settlements), therefore it does not cause any special complaints.
Posts
The construction of the M-7 highway was carried out parallel to the construction of posts, while the government made sure that there were a lot of them to ensure the most safe traffic. Thus, the following posts can be distinguished:
- At the roundabout of the Southern Bypass near the village of Penkino and the northern detour of Vladimir. In this place, a car radar or camera is often located behind the eighth pillar of lighting, if you count in the direction from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod.
- In the Vyaznikovsky district (approximately 285th kilometer). A specially camouflaged tripod is installed here, which is located in the area of the village of Kourkovo in front of the overpass over the railway, and the crew itself is located directly near the bridge. It is worth noting that periodically the direction of control may change, and sometimes it is conducted from the Moscow, and sometimes from the Nizhny Novgorod side.
- In the village of Simontsevo (approximately 276th kilometer). The duty post along with the radar is located in the separation gap opposite the cafe, located in the center of the village. Here, control is already being conducted immediately on both directions of movement.
Nizhny Novgorod Region
It is worth noting that in the Nizhny Novgorod region for the most part the highway section is covered with a fairly good road. The total width of the canvas here is from two to six lanes, and its length is 250 kilometers. At the moment, this section of the route passes directly through Nizhny Novgorod, and daily more than 45 thousand cars pass through the M-7 highway. Hotels are located almost over the entire stretch of the road, constantly accepting more and more new guests. The choice is large, you can choose the option you can afford.
South bypass
This is a relatively new bypass road, which includes a section of the track that fully meets all modern requirements of quality and safety. In terms of performance, it is a highway with a dividing lawn, as well as various metal chippers along the edges, with embankment heights of 12-22 m. It is worth noting that this highway has not yet been completed, therefore it breaks off at the intersection with the road P158 After that, they indicated that they were already going to Bolshoy Mokroy and, approximately in the Kstovo region, they were taking to the main road.
The construction and reconstruction of the M-7 highway in the Southern Bypass area has been ongoing since 1984. The first stage, whose length is 16 kilometers, connected this road with P125, and its construction was carried out in the period from 1984 to 1993, including a bridge over the Oka River. The second stage, passing through P125 and P158, having a length of 14.5 kilometers, was laid in just two and a half years, and it was opened in 2008. The third and fourth were never built due to the fact that the state was not able to finance construction work due to the economic crisis. In 2010, after a proposal from Sergei Ivanov, it was decided to work out a plan for the construction of the third stage, where a public-private partnership with the further organization of tolls should have been used. The third section was 46 kilometers long, and the cost of laying it is estimated at 20 billion rubles.
At the beginning of 2016, the construction of the third stage of the Southern Bypass was already at the final stage. The roadbed and the main engineering communications have already been laid, as well as artificial structures. Among the remaining work, it is worth noting the laying of two additional oil pipelines, as well as carrying out another power line with the subsequent laying of the final layer of the roadway. Movement in this section opens in 2016, and it is worth noting that initially the dates were planned for 2017. The labor movement should start by July 25, and the final commissioning will occur only in late August or early September, after the necessary tests have been carried out.
The fourth stage of the Southern Bypass is expected to be the longest and most expensive section, and its length will be about 40 kilometers. Due to the construction of this section, it will subsequently be possible to ensure a full bypass of Kstov and Nizhny Novgorod, providing access to the main Volga M-7 highway. Financing for this stage will be organized exclusively from the federal budget, and its construction is planned to be completed before the 2018 World Cup.
Nizhny Novgorod - border with Chuvashia
After Nizhny Novgorod, the route continues with the Kazan highway, after which it goes to the Volga Upland. The photo of the M-7 highway clearly shows how the terrain changes noticeably, since a fairly large number of steep climbs and descents appear. The site has a rather high accident rate, because the road has only two lanes, but there is no dividing line on it. The quality of the coating is average, and only periodically the authorities carry out repairs. On this section of the road you can meet only the Vorotynets urban settlement, as well as the cities of Lyskovo and Kstovo, through which the M-7 highway passes. Refueling is also rare.
Chuvashia
The so-called Gorky highway passes through the Chuvash Republic, the length of which is from 160 to 170 kilometers. On the way of this road there are a lot of geographical objects, including Cheboksary, the river Sura, the city of Tsivilsk and many others. Due to the fact that Chuvashia itself is distinguished mainly by a hilly-ravine relief, in many sections of the highway the road surface is not the best. In 2013, a bridge was built across Sura for the passage of vehicles, and roads began to be laid at various sections of the entrance to that bridge. At most major intersections of bypass roads there is established traffic control, but it works mainly only during the day.
Bridge over the Volga
Before the construction of the automobile bridge across the Volga on the M-7 began, the route initially passed in Tatarstan, and again returned to Chuvashia at a site about nine kilometers away. At the same time, two ferries that could transport various trucks were regularly launched.
After the bridge near the village of Naberezhnye Morkvashi was commissioned in 1990, the M-7 highway was changed and a new section was built in Tatarstan, passing through a picturesque place at the renovated bridge intersection with Svyagoy near Isakovo. Subsequently, in the Verkhneuslonsky district, a four-lane road begins after a turn from Ulyanovsk.
The ferry service, which is located near the Nizhny Vyazovyhs, is still functioning today, and there is only one ferry for trucks, cars and pedestrians. In winter, it is customary to organize there a special ice crossing, along which cars can move.
For some time, on various maps (including electronic ones), the M-7 highway near Tyurlema was indicated by two separate roads - a new one that led to the bridge over the Volga River, and an old one that goes through the ferry to Zelenodolsk.
Tatarstan
After the bridge over the Volga ends, the route goes around Kazan through the Kazan bypass road, where it also crosses the Kazanka River.
Further the road goes through the Pestrechinsky district. A rather large amount of work was carried out here to extend the bypass road to R-239, performing it in the form of a full-fledged highway with four-lane traffic. Then the road in the 2x2 road format runs to the village of Shali, where it rests on a two-level interchange, from which there is also access to the R-239 highway. After this roundabout, there is again a two-lane road.
The continuation of the four-lane highway can only be seen again at the 900th kilometer, and it is located at the entrance to the Rybno-Slobodsky district. At the end of the Pestrechinsky district, the road goes through the Mamadyshsky and Rybnoslobodsky districts. It is worth noting that for 20-30 kilometers before the exit Mamadysh, which the highway goes south, there is a large parking lot with a fish market, and the highway is two-lane. But after the bridge over the Kirmyanka River, the highway is again divided into four streams, and so it goes through the new bridge along the Vyatka River, passing through the Elabuzhsky District. The Elabuga bypass road also has four lanes, and three kilometers after the bypass there is a connection with the highway towards Mendeleevsk.
All this information can be quite useful for those who do not know where the M-7 highway is, or who must cross some of its sections. Thanks to detailed explanations, you can not only overcome various obstacles, but also visit a lot of attractions, having a good time along the way.