"The "Vostok" section of the M-12 on the Kazan bypass — from the intersection with the R-239 highway to the exit to the "Shali-Bavly" road with a length of just over 7 km — will receive a paid status from October 6: it is from this date that the relevant decree of the Government of the Russian Federation comes into force. Tariffs are not posted on "Avtodor — Toll Roads" website at the time of publication.
The section from 933rd to 1024th kilometer in the Rostov region, with a length of more than 90 km, will be paid on the M-4 "Don" highway. The deadline for switching to paid mode is linked to the completion of reconstruction: in May of this year, work began on expanding the roadway to six lanes. Additional interchanges are being built in parallel to transfer intersections with other roads to different levels. This will remove traffic lights and increase the speed limit throughout the section. A specific completion date has not been set.
For drivers and carriers who are not willing to pay, the Government decree provides for two free alternative routes along the M-4. Their length exceeds the reconstructed section, however, according to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, no more than three times.
Both solutions will increase the total length of the country's toll road network by almost 100 km. For companies that regularly move cargo in the southern direction — through the Rostov region to the ports of the Azov-Black Sea basin — and along the M-12 corridor towards Kazan and further east, the introduction of toll transportation will require updating transport budgets and route maps. This is especially true for those who work with cargo flows from the BRICS countries through the eastern and southern border crossings: both sections are part of the key federal corridors of these directions.
As long as the fares for bypassing Kazan have not been published, it is impossible to accurately calculate the flight cost increase. Carriers planning routes via the M-12 should keep track of updates on the "Avtodor — Toll Roads" website in the coming days.
