The Gagarin Avenue Bypass is a highway in Nizhny Novgorod, in design and under construction since 2024, intended to relieve Gagarin Avenue and the Myzinsky Bridge and to provide a transport link between the Prioksky and Avtozavodsky Districts of the city, including the settlement of Novinki and adjacent areas. The route will run from Larina Street in Prioksky District across the Oka River to Fuchik Street; the total length of the phases under construction is 12.5–12.8 km. Completion of construction is scheduled for the end of 2028. The bypass is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2029.[1][2]

Project and road parameters

Originally, construction of the bypass envisaged four phases: the road was to run from Akademika Sakharova Street to Fuchik Street. However, during the approval process the first phase was dropped for lack of funds, and only three phases — the second through the fourth — were included in the concession.[3] Four lanes of traffic, two in each direction, are planned along the entire length of the highway. The Gagarin Avenue Bypass will become the first toll road in Nizhny Novgorod; the toll as of October 2026 has not been determined.[1] A key feature of the project is the absence of at-grade intersections with major highways: interchanges with overpasses are planned for connecting to them.[3]

The route of the second phase begins on Larina Street, where an interchange with an overpass is planned, then passes through Blizhnekonstantinovo, to the left of the village of Lyakhovo (with noise barriers along residential development), and reaches the village of Beshentsevo. The project provides for an engineered structure in the area of a deep ravine. At Beshentsevo, a second interchange with an overpass is planned over the Olgino — Bolshaya Elnya road. The road will then run across the fields of the Kstovsky District to the federal highway R-158. By October 2026, the reconstruction of the corresponding section of the highway at the intersection of the bypass with the federal highway R-158 had been fully completed: all the interchange ramps and the overpass above the road have been built.[4][3]

Concession and Progress of Construction

Construction is being carried out under a concession agreement concluded by the government of Nizhny Novgorod Region with LLC "Concession Construction Company No. 11", a subsidiary of JSC "DSK Avtoban". The cost of construction is estimated at 64.4 billion rubles.[5] The general contractor began work in early 2024.[3]

As of July 2026, construction of the second and third phases was more than 53% complete. According to the contractor, as of October 2026 the construction readiness of the second and third phases had reached 62%; at this stage, specialists are installing fencing and mounting foundations at the sites of the above-ground and underground crossings, and are also relocating the water supply line and utility networks. According to the press service of the Avtoban holding, as of October 8, 2026, the overall construction readiness of the 2nd and 3rd phases had reached 65%: the first stage of the 2nd phase is 52% complete, the second stage of the 2nd phase is 78% complete, and the 3rd phase is 72% complete.

Earthwork on the roadbed was 90% complete by October 2026.[6][7] Road surfacing, including the bottom layer, has been laid over a 7.8 km section out of 8.5 km; the total length of the sections for which construction permits have been obtained is 7.5 km, and construction and installation work is under way along the entire length of these sections.[1] Power supply and lighting systems are being installed, and noise barriers and pedestrian overpasses are being erected. In parallel, construction of the interchange on Larina Street is under way: once the relocation of utility networks is complete, reconstruction of the street section and construction of the overpass are planned. According to the regional Ministry of Transport, work is proceeding on schedule, and conditions exist for completing the project ahead of time.[2]

To build the road, the authorities are acquiring land plots from private owners on a compensated basis. In August 2025, an order was published to acquire another 24 plots with garages in the Vympel-1 cooperative on Larina Street in the Prioksky District, with a total area of 526.3 sq. m.[5]

Significance for the Agglomeration

The bypass road is regarded by the authorities as a key infrastructure element in the development of the southern corridor of the Nizhny Novgorod Agglomeration. Proximity to the federal highway R-158 and to the arterial road under construction is cited as one of the main arguments in choosing sites for large investment projects in Novinki — in particular, this was the very justification for choosing the site for the Wildberries warehouse complex in this area.[3] The new road is also mentioned in connection with obtaining federal funding for utility networks in Novinki, where the creation of new jobs served as a condition for the allocation of funds.[3]

Chronicle of Events

Details of each event are in the article devoted to it; here are the dates and the essentials.

In October 2026, 247 specialists and 81 units of equipment were deployed at the construction site.[6]

By October 2026, the engineering structures on the Bolshaya Elnya — Olgino road had been completed; repairs on this section of the road were planned to be finished by the end of 2026.[4]

Sources

  1. NN.RU — As of October 2026, the overall readiness of the Gagarin Avenue bypass road was 62.6%: the first stage of the second phase was 49.91% complete, the second stage of the second
  2. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — The Gagarin Avenue bypass road in Nizhny Novgorod is more than 53% built (archive)
  3. GIPERNN — Where will the Gagarin Avenue bypass road run? A detailed diagram of the new road for the first time (archive)
  4. GTRK "Nizhny Novgorod" (Vesti) — By October 2026, the reconstruction of the corresponding section of the R-158 federal highway at its intersection with the bypass road had been fully completed: all ramps had been built r (archive)
  5. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Another 24 land plots to be seized for the Gagarin Avenue bypass road in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  6. Vremya N — According to the press service of the Avtoban holding, as of October 8, 2026, the overall construction readiness of the 2nd and 3rd phases had reached 65%: the first stage of the 2nd phase was comple (archive)
  7. Vremya N — According to the contractor company, as of October 2026, the construction readiness of the Gagarin Avenue bypass road (second and third phases) had reached 62%. At this stage, with (archive)
  8. Pro Gorod Nizhny Novgorod — In August 2026, an inspection of construction at the second, third, and fourth phase sites revealed defects: a deviation was recorded in the road surface (archive)