Motor rally participants riding about Chita

ULAN UDE, August 31 (Itar-Tass) - Participants in the Battered Roads
motor-rally along the Vladivostok-Kaliningrad route on Wednesday are
riding about Chita. The motor rally has been organized under the auspices
of the All-Russia Popular Front.
An official at the Zabaikalye (area beyond Lake Baikal) Territory
regional branch of the United Russia party has told Itar-Tass, "They are
to meet with local authorities and activists to discuss the most acute
issues that are uppermost in the minds of Russian motorists, such as fuel
prices, transport tax rates, Civil Responsibility Insurance, technical
inspection procedure, blood alcohol tests, etc."
The motorists are riding about Chita streets to estimate the quality
of road surfacing upon declining an official protocol-suggesting
sightseeing tour of the city.
It is planned that on Wednesday evening, the motorists in downtown
area will contact Prime Minister Vladimir Putin within the scope of a
video conference. They are to tell the Premier how his assignments
concerning the development of the Federal Chita-Khabarovsk road ("Amur"
Highway) are carried out.
Participants in the video conference are substantively to discuss
matters of current importance concerning the maintenance and development
of the Federal motor-road network, as well as the functioning of the
roadmaking sector as a whole. Special attention is to be devoted to the
results of accomplishment of respective assignments that were earlier
given by Putin in this respect, the government press service reported.
Vice-Premier Sergei Ivanov, Transport Minister Igor Levitin and
Communications Minister Igor Shchyogolev, as well as representatives of
other ministries and agencies concnerned, and the chiefs of building
companies will take part in the conference.
The organizers of the Vladivostok-Kaliningrad month-long motor rally,
which began on August 25, are aiming mainly on creating a system of public
control over the condition of Russian roads.
Participants in the motor rally are to ride via such large cities as
Khabarovsk, Chita, Ulan Ude, Irkutsk, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk, as well as
small populated areas with a view to gainig full and objective picture of
current road problems.
Participants in the motor rally mak entries in their Internet diary
about their journey across Russia. Fresh impressions are described in
their notes about a ride along the Amur Highway. They met with the
builders of that road from the roadbuilding company Trud (labour). Company
chief Sergei Ten told the motorists about the peculiarities of road
construction in Zabaikalye. His estimate is that "the most difficult
problem is posed by permafrost, a phenomenon which has not been fully
studied here".
Owing to permafrost, a newly-built road's asphalt surfacing heaves
while earth sags. Neverthless, the company gives a guarantee of eight
years for the road "cushion" and five years for the roadbed. In the event
of damage, the company does repairs on its own.