Buses crossed the Crimean Bridge
Passenger buses are allowed to cross the Crimean Bridge. Trucks are still crossing the Kerch Strait on ferries, despite promises to open traffic for large vehicles from October 16.
The Russian Ministry of Transport reported this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“This morning buses began moving along the Crimean Bridge. They started going in both directions. Passengers, if desired, can also use the boats and ferries of the Kerch sea crossing,” the message says.
There are still four ferries operating on the crossing, of which only two are designed to transport trucks. According to the calculations of drivers waiting their turn for the crossing, taking into account the priority transportation of perishable goods and military vehicles, 25 trucks manage to cross in one direction per day, while several hundred of them have accumulated at the parking areas.
The crossing operates according to actual weather conditions, and it is impossible to calculate the time of cargo delivery. Shippers and suppliers are frantic about shipping arrangements. Many hoped that trucks would be allowed to cross the bridge on October 16, but this did not happen.
“Road services have completed work to strengthen the bridge span,” said former Minister of Transport of Crimea, head of the cargo carriers association Anatoly Tsurkin in his telegram channel. – Today, the issue of launching freight traffic is in the hands of law enforcement agencies.
It is the special services that will decide when, in what quantities, what types of cargo, the carrying capacity of vehicles and other criteria will move across the Crimean Bridge. As of today, there is no information about the proposed launch. But she could appear at any minute.”
Meanwhile, the Drivers of Russia association appealed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with a request to centrally organize humanitarian convoys through new regions of the Russian Federation.
“We have cargo, we have responsible drivers who are ready today, now, to transport cargo to Crimea through the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. But there is no comprehensive approach and no single coordination center that will ensure interdepartmental and interregional interaction.
We, as a public organization that is already interacting with the ministries of transport of the Republic of Crimea, the Rostov region and the Krasnodar Territory, are ready to take responsibility for organizing a single coordination center,” said the head of the organization Oleg Torosh.
Road services will soon begin repairing the highway from Dzhankoy to Melitopol. Its condition limits the speed of movement and causes concern among shippers. From Melitopol to Mariupol and further to Novoazovsk, the condition of the route is satisfactory.
English version :: Read in English: Buses are starting to run on the Crimean Bridge.