Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD)
Saint Petersburg
The Western High–Speed Diameter (WHSD) is a unique intra-city high-speed highway that provides round-the-clock transport link between the southern and northern districts of St. Petersburg.
The highway makes it possible to drive through the 5-million megacity in less than 20 minutes, provides transport accessibility to the Seaport of St. Petersburg, redirects traffic flows to the most popular federal highways, unloads the historical center, the Ring Road, the street and road network of St. Petersburg districts. For the first time, thanks to the introduction of the Western High-Speed Diameter, all areas of the city became accessible around the clock, despite the drawbridges.
The Western High-Speed Diameter is divided into three sections: Southern, Central and Northern. Most of the Central section of the highway consists of unique bridge structures: a cable-stayed bridge over the Korabelny Fairway, a cable-stayed bridge over the Petrovsky Fairway and a double-deck bridge over the Sea Channel. The central section of the WHSD consists only of artificial structures and is the most complex in terms of engineering solutions and implementation.
An original architectural solution was developed for the bridge over the Korabelny Fairway: the pylons of the bridge are inclined inwards, which gives it a visual resemblance to a drawbridge – one of the most recognizable symbols of St. Petersburg. This is the only road bridge in the world with pylons tilted inwards.
The bridge across the Petrovsky Fairway is also interesting from the point of view of the architectural solution. The cable-stayed systems of the bridge are mounted in four planes, so that the bridge takes on an “airy” appearance.
The bridge over the Sea Channel is the highest bridge in St. Petersburg with a 52–meter underclearance. In December 2019, the passage of the world’s largest nuclear icebreaker “Arktika”, which height coincides with the height of the bridge, successfully took place under the double-deck bridge.
The unique bridges of the WHSD have become new symbols of St. Petersburg as a dynamically developing metropolis. Cable-stayed bridges, in turn, have become a place of attraction for St. Petersburg residents and guests of the city. Thus, a new cultural space “Sevkabel Port” has been recently opened, its coastline offering a spectacular view of the Korabelny Bridge. A recreation area was set up in the coastal part of the Primorsky Victory Park on Krestovsky Island, and the view of the Petrovsky Bridge undoubtedly became a harmonious centre-piece of the skyline.
WHSD is the most popular toll road in Russia, where up to 380 thousand transactions are made per day. The WHSD includes some of the longest bridge structures in Russia (2nd and 3rd places after the Crimean Bridge): the Southern Flyover of the main road route over the Sea Channel and the Korabelny Fairway is 9,378 meters and the Northern Flyover of the main road route over the Petrovsky Fairway and Elagin Fairway is 8,794,475 meters.
WHSD is an advanced modern highway operating around the clock. WHSD is often called a “smart road”, because traffic management on the highway is computerized. The Traffic Control Center receives information about the situation on the road from CCTV cameras covering the entire length of the WHSD. In case of emergency situations, warning captions are displayed on the information panels, which allows drivers to effectively plan their route.
Every year, the WHSD Festival with a mass race and a bike parade is held on the highway. The sports event traditionally takes place on the first Saturday of June. This is the only day of the year when traffic in one of the directions of the WHSD is restricted to cars and open to cyclists and runners instead. The main events of the Festival unfold on the Central section, which is rightfully considered the most beautiful part of the highway. Cable-stayed bridges offer panoramic views of the new business districts of St. Petersburg and their modern iconic sights: the Gazprom Arena stadium and the Lakhta Center.