State program “Roads of Belarus” for 2026‑2030: priority – quality and accessibility

A well-organized transport network is about logistics, sustainability, speed of transportation, and ultimately the safety of passenger flow. The importance of each component is hard to overestimate. Let's analyze in this context the state program "Roads of Belarus" approved by the Government in December last year for the years 2026-2030.

The density of the road network in Belarus is one of the highest in the post-Soviet space, and also by European standards. More than 40 percent of all cargo and about 60 percent of passengers are transported on public roads. Over the past 10-15 years, most major highways have been radically transformed. It is also noteworthy that the share of the rural population living in settlements within two kilometers of public roads reached 100 percent as early as 2020. But this is only one side of the coin. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on solving the equally important task of bringing local transport arteries into order, as well as reconstructing roads and bridges. The overall goal is to preserve and improve the existing network.

The implementation of the state program "Roads of Belarus" for 2021-2025 has been recognized by the Government as effective in the first four years, said Minister of Transport and Communications Alexey Lyakhnovich in October. The tasks were quite ambitious: over the five-year period, it was necessary to reconstruct 18 thousand kilometers of republican and local roads — 1.3 times more than in 2016-2020. The plans for the repair of bridge structures included a target of about 24 thousand linear meters (500 bridges) — also 1.3 times more than in the previous five-year period. Specialists coped well — fortunately, funding was stable and increasing.

— If in 2022, 930 million rubles were allocated for the repair and reconstruction of republican and local roads, then in 2023 — 1.4 billion, in 2024 — 2.2 billion, in 2025 — more than 2.3 billion, — noted Alexey Lyakhnovich.

As for the state program "Roads of Belarus" for 2026-2030, the implementation of the document will allow for the repair, construction, and reconstruction of at least 25 thousand kilometers of public roads (or 140 percent of the expected completion for the current five-year period) in 2026-2030, as well as ensure a transition to a new quality of roads that meet modern safety standards.

Funding for the state program activities is provided in the amount of 18.88 billion rubles.

The program for the upcoming five-year period also includes the continuation of large-scale, but very important activities for the regions of the country regarding the arrangement of local roads. Let us remind you: the Head of State outlined this large-scale task in 2017. At that time, according to various estimates, between 6 to 10 thousand kilometers of such roads in the regions required urgent repairs.

By the beginning of the current five-year period, the length of local roads was about 70.6 thousand kilometers, of which 46.3 percent had asphalt concrete surfaces, 1.2 percent had cement concrete, 0.9 percent had gravel surfaces treated with organic binding material, 35.9 percent had gravel and crushed stone, and 0.2 percent were made of artificial materials (bridges). At the same time, the length of unpaved roads decreased from 11,435 to 10,925 kilometers in 2021-2025 and accounted for 15.5 percent.

But this is only an interim result. Alexander Lukashenko set another task — to connect district centers with agrotowns.

— This is the most important issue if we want people in the countryside to live and not feel deprived; they deserve it, — said the President.

The plans for the five-year period regarding local roads were specified by Prime Minister Alexander Turchin at the VII All-Belarusian People's Assembly while presenting the Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2026-2030 for approval:

— All roads from district centers to agrotowns will have improved surfaces, and transport accessibility will increase. The travel time from settlements to regional centers should not exceed one to one and a half hours. And this is no more than moving within Minsk.

Almost the entire volume of work on local roads to maintain their transport and operational indicators will be carried out within the framework of current repairs.

Capital repairs will affect 144.4 kilometers, and the length of constructed and reconstructed facilities will be 10 kilometers.

The work will also affect bridges and other structures. As for communication between district centers and agrotowns, the installation of improved road surfaces is planned at six sites in the Vitebsk and Minsk regions.

The development of road infrastructure is another area that specialists will need to work seriously on in the coming years. The program, in particular, provides for the installation of artificial lighting on constructed and reconstructed republican roads in places of concentration of traffic accidents, hazardous pedestrian crossings, and approaches to them, as well as road intersections, including at interchanges. These facilities will be included in the state investment program annually.

In 2021, a project was launched in the country to create a traffic management center and other components of the intelligent transport system (ITS). In the first phase, 60 road information stations were deployed, providing traffic monitoring, meteorological data collection, and operational information for road users. From 2024, the project continued with the development and implementation of a software and hardware complex for the traffic monitoring center. Last year, by presidential decree, the enterprise "Beldorsvyaz" was designated as the sole operator of the ITS. It will be responsible for the operation of systems, including the toll collection system for paid roads, dynamic weighing, meteorological monitoring, traffic flow intensity accounting, and more. In 2026-2030, work will also continue on the implementation of an automated system for monitoring the operational reliability of bridge structures.

As for toll sections (their length in Belarus as of January 1, 2026, was 1,787 kilometers), the program "Roads of Belarus" does not directly mention the increase in their length. However, there is potential for development.

In 2026-2030, more than 2.5 billion rubles are expected to be collected from tolls for road use to the state budget. These funds will be directed to the maintenance, repair, reconstruction, and construction of republican roads, primarily paid ones.

Digitalization and digital transformation of business processes in the road sector will take place using the basic principles of digital sovereignty (import substitution, use of domestic software) with consideration of the information security of systems and resources in accordance with the requirements of Belarusian legislation.

Belarusian roads must be suitable for movement and safe regardless of weather conditions. Drivers had no serious complaints even in the current extreme winter season. For example, the consequences of the January snow cyclone "Ulli" on republican and local roads were eliminated around the clock by almost 3,500 specialists and about 2,500 units of special equipment. From January 8 to 14, more than 104 thousand tons of anti-icing materials were used to treat the roadway. The main task of transport workers was to ensure the throughput of the roads, and they handled it with honor.

Photo by Sergey SLEPTSOV.

Source SB.BY