The reconstruction of the Minsk-Vitebsk highway will begin after the completion of work on the Minsk-Grodno route
— In the coming years, we must complete the reconstruction of the Minsk-Grodno route, thereby "closing" the most high-traffic roads between Minsk and the regional centers, he said. — Next in priority is the M-3 Minsk-Vitebsk route with a branch to Polotsk.
Avramenko noted that currently, there is good connectivity with Vitebsk via the M-1 highway through Orsha, with only a small section from Orsha to Vitebsk deviating.
— But the M-3 road also needs development, emphasized the representative of the Ministry of Transport. — Firstly, considering the existing high traffic intensity. Secondly, there is a section that requires reconstruction and repair – it's the exit from Minsk, a concrete road built over 30 years ago that needs modernization.
In parallel with the reconstruction of the M-6 route, road workers intend to continue work on the R-23 Minsk-Mikashevichi road towards Soligorsk; the bypass of Slutsk is planned for completion next year. On the R-80 Sloboda-Papernya highway, which is part of the MKAD-2, there is a 15-kilometer section where work will also be completed soon.
— All reconstruction projects are quite costly – their implementation depends on the availability of funding, noted Avramenko. — But we must also remember that Belarus positions itself as a transit state, and in order to attract additional traffic, we must create comfortable infrastructure.
Currently, the length of public roads in Belarus is 86,896 km. Of this total length, 75,353 km of roads have a hard surface (86.7%), of which 75,353 km have an improved surface.