New highway between interstate motor crossing points Brusnichnoye and Nuiyamaa has been open in Leningrad region
Today new highway between interstate motor crossing points Brusnichnoye and Nuiyamaa has been open in Leningrad region. Nuiyamaa crossing point has been open by Finland. This information has been provided by PRIME TASS. Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport, reported at the opening ceremony: "within a very short period we have built modern highway conforming to world standards. The Finnish side asked for that since they opened new crossing point". The construction of the highway started in January 2006 and in July it was accepted by the State Committee. The highway having 3-4 lines of traffic is 4 kilometers long. The parts for motor transport, staying before and after Brusnichnoye crossing point, have been extended by 500 meters. Special crossover roads have been added as well. The construction was financed by Federal budget to the amount of about 100 million rubles. Simultaneously with commissioning of highway between Brusnichnoye and Nuiyamaa the 14-kilometer road between Gostilitsi and Koskolovo is being reconstructed to the cost of Leningrad Region budget. In 2006 the works were financed to the amount of 240 million rubles. According to the information provided by the customs service, over 1 million of people and 500 thousand of vehicles crossed this part of border in 2005.
The highway between the crossing point runs close to Saimaa channel. Channel’s total length is 43 km, 20 of which cross the territory of Russia within closed border area. According to the agreement between USSR and Finland signed in 1963 for 50 years, all the structures of the channel are managed by the Finnish side. Finland is the lease holder responsible for vessels passing the channel and operation of all the structures. In Russia the control of lease contract execution is being carried out by Saimenskyi Cannel FSI. Today the channel rent price is 300 thou dollars per year. It has not been changed from 1960-ies. According to I. Levitin, "the contract terminates in 2013, 50 years after we signed it. We negotiate with Finland the issue of the contract prolongation. Today’s price does not satisfy Russia. We are being consulted and the experts negotiate as regards the new price".
