Minskoe shosse: history, construction, state of the art

In the suburbs, there are many interesting places. Many of them can be seen by going on a journey along such a road as the Minsk Highway. This track has been around for a long time and is very popular, because it is well-equipped. The highway passes through incredibly beautiful places, here you can see truly breathtaking landscapes. Almost on its entire length the road is well renovated, which allows you to comfortably reach it at the necessary points.

Minsk highway: a little bit about the road

So, it's worth to talk more about this track. It also has another name - M-1 "Belarus". The highway passes through the Moscow and Smolensk regions. It reaches the border with the Republic of Belarus. Many are interested in the length of the road. This highway really has a considerable length - about 440 kilometers. According to many sources, soon, in 2018, most of the highway will be paid.

For what purposes was the highway built?

Now we should talk about the history of this highway. Sometimes you can hear that there is no special history for this object, since the road is relatively young, it was built in the 30s of the XX century. This is not entirely true, since even during such a period of time a lot of interesting and important historical events happened here. In addition, in this area in the Moscow region there is a huge number of monuments of culture and history.

Initially, there was no task to lay the Minsk highway. It was decided to build it only after a number of actions were taken to change the existing Mozhayskoye highway. It was considered uncomfortable, because it ran through many settlements. Because of this, the throughput and the speed of movement decreased markedly. Previously Mozhayskoye highway was called the Smolensk road. It was actively exploited during the war of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War. It was in this direction that the main battles took place.

However, in peacetime, the Smolensk road was no longer sufficient for a full-fledged movement. In this regard, the authorities decided to build a new highway, which would be absolutely straight.

Construction of a highway

So, the reasons for building this road were considered in detail. To lay the highway, as already mentioned, began in the 30s of the XX century. This direction has always been actively used by summer residents. The sites along the Minsk Highway have always been popular, there are a lot of old villages and garden associations. The road was built by prisoners of the Gulag. We finished this global construction almost right before the war, in 1941. During the Great Patriotic War the new highway was of major strategic importance. Then the highway consisted of pavers and had 2 lanes, one on each side. On some parts of the road, closer to Moscow, there were areas covered with cement concrete. It is curious that the supports of the bridges across the rivers and ravines were then made of wood. At that time, there was already a shortage of funds, which, of course, affected the construction of the road. However, despite this, it was recognized as one of the best highways in the country.

After the war, the road, naturally, was in poor condition. On it there were traces of shells, it was severely damaged by the caterpillars of tanks and other military equipment. The restoration of the highway took many years, it was completed in 1980.

Road Route

Of course, it is worthwhile to talk separately about the route along which the route passes. This road starts from the important intersection of the Moscow Ring Road - Minsk Highway. Then the highway passes on the territory of the Moscow region, near the cities of Odintsovo, Kubinka and Mozhaisk. Further Minsk highway passes through the territory of Smolensk region, passes also near a number of cities, such as Gagarin, Vyazma, etc. The road goes to the border of Russia with the Republic of Belarus.

However, on this highway does not end, it has a continuation in the form of a Belarusian highway called M1. If you look at its continuation to the east, it will be the federal highway M5 "Ural".

What sights can be seen on the Minsk highway?

So, above it has already been said that during its short time of existence the road has already managed to take part in the war. That is why during the motorway you can often see monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. For example, on 72 km of Minsk highway there is a monument to military road workers, on 86 km of the highway - a monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya - heroine of the Great Patriotic War. At 187 km of the highway you can see a monument dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. Also in this direction there are many picturesque places, therefore the sites along the Minsk Highway have always been very popular. Also, by modern standards, this is one of the cleanest, in terms of ecology, directions.

Going on a trip along the Minsk highway, you can also visit many interesting cities, for example, Vyazma or Smolensk. Vyazma has long been known for its unusually beautiful architecture. Smolensk is a large city, which also has a rich and ancient history.

Current state of the road

Thus, a large amount of information was considered on how and for what purposes the Minsk Highway appeared. Moscow is a kind of center in which many highways cross. Many of them are currently being reconstructed.

Now we should consider what the Minsk Highway looks like. Throughout its length the road has 4 lanes, 2 lanes to each side. In some areas in the Smolensk region there is a dividing strip in the middle of the highway. The separator (in the form of a bump stopper) is also present on the segment from MKAD to 20 kilometers.