Many state factors depend on the degree of development of the road network, such as the country's prosperity, its defense capability, and much more. Unfortunately, Russian highways are simply unpredictable, it is worth moving off the road and heading to the outback, as you may encounter such a phenomenon as a dirt road.
Between many settlements, such paths seem to exist, but it is almost impossible to use them. On such primers, sometimes there are large pits, huge potholes, continuous bumps, as well as a lot of dust flying from under the wheels of the car in all directions. Although road repair in Russia is carried out every year, it is impossible to fully resist the destructive factors that destroy the road surface. Therefore, it is better for citizens of the Russian Federation to know in advance what they may encounter on Russian highways.
History of Road Infrastructure
In the ninth century, when the ancient Russian state was born, rivers acted as roads, so most settlements were built on their banks. In summer, they sailed on water, and in winter they rode on a sleigh.
Then, when the founding of a single centralized state began in the fifteenth century, its power began to think about creating a Yamsky post. Thus, the roads of Russia began to take shape, and a specially appointed official should be responsible for their condition.
During the reign of Catherine II, the road business began to be given particularly important state significance. By her order, the old roads were in excellent condition, and in each district a special team was assembled, whose task was to monitor the safety of the road traffic.
In the nineteenth century, the development of railway transport began, so highway and dirt tracks became less significant for the state. But in the twentieth century, thanks to the rapid development of industry and the appearance of the first cars, the attitude of the authorities to the road network has changed significantly. Since there was no proper funding, the quality of Russian roads continued to remain in poor condition.
A large program to upgrade and build highways was scheduled for the forties of the 20th century, but World War II prevented such ambitious plans. After the fighting, it was discovered that more than ninety thousand kilometers of road infrastructure were destroyed, so the question was about restoring old roads, and not building new ones.
Then, construction continued at an intensive pace in the seventies, but, unfortunately, many more district centers were not connected to the regional cities with a hard surface.
At present, although the condition of the roads is much better, according to experts, the total length of the road network does not reach the mark of 1.5 million kilometers, which could satisfy the social and economic needs of the state.
Classification and categories
Roadways in Russia, as, in principle, in another state, differ from each other by the quality of the road surface and the length, therefore, the following classes of roads are distinguished:
In atlases and maps, such a classification is almost impossible to meet, so it is better to know the marking, consisting of letters and numbers. The letter designation makes it clear which road the driver is dealing with:
E - these route routes are an integral part of the general road communication of Europe, coinciding with some sections of federal highways.
AN - this means that this highway belongs to Asian roads.
M - these are the federal road arteries connecting large regional centers and cities.
P - highways that connect the settlements of administrative importance.
And - these are roadways of regional significance that do not have their own direct routes to the capital of the Russian Federation.
K - other highways, mainly a country road or a dirt road.
N - local or inter-municipal road communication.
Of course, it is most convenient to build your route along the highways of the highest category, although sometimes it turns out to be longer, but it is safer and more comfortable.
What is a dirt path?
These are roadways consisting solely of natural and natural material: sand, clay, rocky soil, turf and many other such soils. The dirt road in its qualities and properties belongs to the fifth category and does not have a hard surface.
During rainy weather and snowmelt, such tracts are completely unsuitable for use and a passenger car cannot be guaranteed to pass through them. It is safest to operate them during the first frosts, when there is still no snowfall or in the dry season.
A dirt road is of the following types:
improved (marked on the map with two parallel yellow lines);
field and forest (in the atlas it looks like a broken line);
country road (the map shows solid lanes).
Primer construction
This type of roadway can also be done with your own hands, for example, in the case when you need to facilitate your travel to the country house or to some other rural area. The construction of roads from natural soil is presented in the following ways:
1. Sprinkle road slag with coal slag, the layer of which will be about 5-10 cm. In this case, the tract dries quickly and puddles are practically not formed. After three years of operation, repeat this procedure.
2. Using a brick with asphalt crumb. Such a dirt road can withstand even spring snowmelt and can last more than four years.
3. Tractor laying crumbs from asphalt onto a cloth mandrel, the density of which is 150 g / m 2 . This method is the fastest and highest quality.
Building roads of this type is not too expensive, but requires constant maintenance of the pavement in good condition.
Repair work on soil
During operation, under the influence of the wheels of various vehicles, weather conditions, due to the large amount of precipitation, unstable temperature and various other factors, all highways, without exception, wear out and become unusable. Therefore, unpaved roads require systematic restoration and maintenance. This can also be done in several ways.
Overhaul of roads implies that some of their large sections, and in some cases the entire canvas, will be blocked again.
At the current annual renovations, graders are mainly used, cutting natural material along the curbs and moving it to the roadway.
Improved primer
For better stability of the roadway on the country roads create a lightweight roadway. First, for this purpose, this section of the road is cleaned of dust and dirt, and then it is covered with soil mixed with each other, gravel material and binders with various additives.
Such improved dirt roadways are more resistant to various damage factors, with a minimum of funds being used for their construction.
Difficult areas
Russian motorists have identified several major surprises awaiting them on dirt roads.
The first of them is the spring off-road. In this case, the soil surface resembles a swamp. Dirt can completely block the treads, thus making the tires smooth and completely defenseless. To avoid such troubles, you need to move strictly along the rut and try to lighten the vehicle to the maximum.
The second surprise is unpredictable sand. In the event that it is dry, then the machine can, under its weight, dig deeper and deeper into it. If the sand cover is wet, then it can be overcome faster, but you need to do this in a careful way, so as not to plunge into viscous dunes.
It would seem that small puddles on the roads may not be a special obstacle, but still they sometimes hide a lot of pitfalls. If there is no way to go round them, then it is better to stop and get out of the car in order to explore the depth with a stick.
Country road
This is a small road between settlements, also covered with natural soil. It is suitable for the movement of wheeled vehicles, but since this road does not have a hard surface, it can be completely unsuitable for travel under adverse weather conditions.
Such a roadway is the most unacceptable for the operation of cars on it - in order to drive on it, especially in early spring, avid motorists recommend putting special chains on the tires of the car.
The quality of the road surface of the Russian Federation
In 2012, the Davos Forum experts drafted an annual report and for this they evaluated the roads of Russia and other countries. Their system used a seven-point scale, where 1 is the worst condition, and 7 is excellent. Russia received its legitimate three points in such a study. Russian roads got such a low indicator because of their satisfactory quality and, at the same time, you can’t use some dirt tracks at all in the autumn or spring season. Therefore, in fact, such estimates are not surprising.
Why are there poor roads in Russia?
It is generally accepted that the state road network looks like this because the country has a poor climate and outdated standards and technologies. In some cases, the existing terrain is unfavorable for construction, so even repairing the road in such conditions will be difficult.
In such regions of Russia as Karelia and the Far North, the construction process is complicated by a low temperature, so it requires large energy costs, which consequently leads to a rise in the cost of the road. As a result, it turns out that a large amount goes not to laying the pavement, but to fight against adverse environmental conditions.
How much does the pavement cost?
The budget of 2016 included 554 billion rubles, of which 130 will be spent on the reconstruction and restoration of regional roads, and 65 - on the construction of the Kerch bridge. The remaining billions will go to the maintenance and repair of highways of federal significance. According to recent estimates, the reconstruction of one kilometer of the roadway on average costs 28 million rubles, and the construction - 133 million rubles. This will reduce the number of traffic jams in these areas.
Government plans
The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation announced that in the next five years it plans to replace all dirt roads with concrete. Such construction involves financing of 1.8 trillion rubles. Also, as part of such a program, thirty-five bridges and overpasses should be replaced or reconstructed.
In the event that the declared plans are fulfilled, then, according to experts, this will reduce the number of accidents and increase the throughput of roads. And besides, it will solve one of the main problems of motorists.