Russia: First Superhighway

With only 4,700,000 motor vehicles in a nation that covers one-seventh of the earth’s surface, the Soviet Union would hardly be expected to worry much about traffic jams. Yet Russia has a growing problem, for almost all the cars and trucks are concentrated in the larger cities or on the few major roads between them. Especially congested at peak hours are some of the main streets of Moscow, where dump trucks and haulers vie at a snail’s pace with taxis to get from one distant suburb to another. Last week a brand-new 68-mile superhighway was opened in the hope of speeding things up. The road, which forms a ring around the outskirts of Moscow, was begun in 1956 and completed two years before the target date with the help of more than 100,000 students, workers and other Muscovites who put in long hours of volunteer labor on weekends. Since this is the first modern divided-lane highway in all Russia, thousands of Muscovites swarmed out on the inaugural day to have a look. Most of the spectators came on foot; the few lucky ones who own cars excitedly opened them up to the maximum 80 m.p.h., unmindful of the washboard ripples and wavy indentations on the brand-new roadbed. Even Premier Nikita Khrushchev had his driver take him out for a run around the circuit in his sleek Chaika limousine. Acknowledging the cheers of bystanders, Khrushchev paused to congratulate officials, urged them to put up some restaurants and motels along the way. And, suggested Khrushchev in an afterthought, next time they build a highway, a little more attention might be paid to the quality of the surface.