Portovoye Highway in Magadan Opened to Two-Way Traffic After Reconstruction
15 September 2021
An event long awaited by the city residents has taken place in Magadan – the reinforced section of Portovoye Highway has been officially opened to two-way traffic. Reconstruction of the section was carried out by Stroytransgaz.
Portovoye Highway in Magadan is of great importance for the region and is called the “lifeline”. It is a key element in the arrangement of Severny Zavoz (deliveries of goods to the Northern Territories of Russia) for the Magadan Region, delivery of black coal for heating the administrative centre of the region, as well as fuel, food and industrial products for Kolyma in general.
Active decay of the Portovoye Highway section started in 2014, after continuous downpours. Besides that, serious damage was caused by breaking waves and freeze-thaw action. These factors caused coastline melting of two metres per year. The situation became almost critical in 2017, after another inundation. A state of emergency was declared, and only two-way contra-flow traffic was allowed within this section for four years. Significant funds were required for reconstruction of the road.
The quality of the work performed was recognized by the governor of the region and mayor of the city. ‘Today, we make the reconstructed road available for use of the municipality. This section has been thoroughly reinforced, surfaced, and equipped with safety elements,’ Sergey Nosov, Governor of the Magadan Region, said.
The Portovoye Highway section was reinforced by means of extra strong reinforced-concrete slabs; an equivalent of such slabs is used for airfield roadbeds. In contrast to the crushed stone more frequently used in Kolyma, the reinforced-concrete base can withstand the heaviest loads. Asphalted heavy slabs were also utilized for the pedestrian footpath. The width of the pedestrian area is 1.5 m. Guardrails have been installed on both the seaside and the roadside. Besides that, a viewing platform has been arranged overlooking the Nagayev Bay and the coastline of Mayak park.
As of today, Stroytransgaz has started land-improvement works. The road filling slope is being covered with geogrid and soil for subsequent landscaping. The construction workers have to raise the ground level down the slope, as well as to lay a proper base for the future embankment from Mayak park to one of the city’s sights – the six-tonne mammoth sculpture – before cold weather sets in.
Utility lines (those for communication, video surveillance, and fibre optics for Wi-Fi sharing) are already being buried in ground. The Internet will be a good complement to the heated benches and bicycle paths which are to be arranged here in 2022.
Stroytransgaz participates actively in the development of the Magadan Region infrastructure. In this region, the Company carries out reconstruction of a 352-metre-long bridge across the Ayan-Yuryakh river, construction of a bridge crossing over the Avenirych stream on the Avenirych-Seimchan highway, overhaul of the bridge over the Detrin river, and construction of a bridge crossing over the Agan river on the Palatka-Kulu-Neksikan highway. In August 2021, JSC Stroytransgaz signed a contract for the improvement of the coast protection structures along the Portovoye Highway in Magadan from Mayak park to Morskoy pocket park. The total area of the work will be 2,936 m2. Stroytransgaz also carries out works for construction of hydraulic structures and development of areas for dumps and tailings dams (waste storage facilities) at the Mining Processing Plant of Pavlik gold ore deposit.