New Transit Route to Join Kuban and Crimea into a Unified Resort Area

The south Russian resorts of Kuban and Crimea can become an integral resort area for Russian and foreign tourists following the proposed renovation of existing roads and the construction of new roads to the Black Sea coast.

KRASNODAR, December 19 – The authorities are also building a marine transport route between the two regions, according to the press service of the Krasnodar Territory governor.

"We want to create anchor resort areas on the Black Sea coast that will join Kuban and Crimea into a unified resort area," Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in Rostov-on-Don.

The number of tourists in the Krasnodar Territory reached 15 million in 2016. According to the regional authorities, up to 68,000 vehicles used the M4 Don Highway each day during the peak season, whereas the highway’s design capacity is only 14,000 vehicles.

"We need comprehensive system-wide solutions, major capital improvements. We need to renovate existing highways and build new ones to offer alternative routes to the Black Sea coast," Veniamin Kondratyev said.

The governor believes that the Maikop-Tuapse route must be modernized, because it is the shortest route from the North Caucasus and the Astrakhan Region and will unclog the M4 Don Highway. Kondratyev added that the route could be re-launched as a toll road following modernization.