Sochi residents protest against closure of ramps from highway to their houses

Residents of the Sochi townships Kudepsta and Chkalovskiy have held a gathering, where they protested against the way of organizing traffic on Federal Highway M-27 and closure of the access ramps, leading to their houses.

The action, held in the evening of August 20, was attended by about 30 people, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"For several months already, for unknown reasons, residents of Kudepsta and Chkalovskiy, inhabited by more than 10,000 people, cannot get to their houses, because of absence of access ramps from the highway. Before we get to our houses we need to drive extra 15 kilometres. There are no explanations," Oleg Khomyakov, one of the initiators of the gathering, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"They have left only accesses from the right and left from the Federal Highway. To reach them, drivers have to go for 10-15 kilometres extra; it doubles the traffic jams, since drivers are forced to circle around," Semyon Lavrov, another local, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The participants of the event have drawn up an appeal to Sergey Obukhov, an MP of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, asking him to help in solving the problem. Igor Vasiliev, the MP's assistant, said that the appeal would be handed over to Obukhov on August 21.