M4 highway (Russia)

M4 Federal Highway M4
Федеральная автомобильная дорога M4
Don Highway
Route information
Length:	1,543 km (959 mi)
Major junctions
North end:	Moscow
South end:	Novorossiysk
Highway system
Russian Federal Highways

The Russian route M4 (also known as the Don Highway) is a major trunk road that links Moscow to Rostov-on-the-Don. Its length is 1164 kilometres.

Highway "Don" in the south-east of Voronezh

The route starts at the Moscow Ring Road (as Kashira Highway) and runs south, passing west of Vidnoye, east of Domodedovo, west of Kashira and Stupino, where the Caspian Highway branches off to the east. The Don Highway continues across Tula Oblast west of Venev, through Bogoroditsk and Yefremov, then across Lipetsk Oblast, passing through Yelets and Zadonsk, and then across Voronezh Oblast, bypassing Voronezh and Boguchar. After crossing the Don River near Rostov, the road continues even further south to Krasnodar and Novorossiysk.

The Don Highway, extensively upgraded and widened in the 2000s, is an artery connecting Moscow with Southern Russia. In the summer months, the road suffers from heavy traffic congestion caused by summer vacationers travelling to the Black Sea resorts like Sochi and by lorries transporting fruit from the southern provinces to the heavily populated areas of Central and Northern Russia.

References