The Kolyma Highway
The famous Kolyma Highway, a road built by GULAG prisoners. This is the road of bones, where every village is a piece of history of Dalstroy (Far North Construction Trust). This is the road the famous writers Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn wrote about.
It is a road of more than 2,000 km running through the mountain system of Northeast Siberia and passing through narrow canyons and high passes.
The R504 Kolyma Federal Highway (former index - M56) is an operating 2,032 km long federal highway between Yakutsk and Magadan, with 1,197 km in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and 835 km in the Magadan Oblast. The road also has a historical name - the Kolyma Route, which it is known by in literature and mass media (some authors use a synonym - the Kolyma Trakt).
Today the Kolyma is one of the key highways of the Russian Far East. It passes through Yakutia and Magadan Oblast, connecting the eastern regions of Yakutia with the central and western regions of Magadan and serving as a gateway to the Pacific Ocean.
The road starts in Nizhny Bestyakh adjoining the A360 Lena Federal Highway and passes through the settlements of Tyungyulyu, Churapcha, Ytyk-Kyuyol, Khandyga, Ust-Nera, Artyk, Kadykchan, Susuman, Yagodnoye, Debin, Orotukan, Myakit, Atka, Palatka and ends in Magadan.
The Kolyma Highway has two historical branches. The first route, predominantly passing through Yakutia (Kyubume - Tomtor - Kuranakh-Sala - Kadykchan), is known as the “Southern” or “Oymyakonskaya” road. This is the historical Kolyma Highway which was built much earlier than the modern highway and is now gradually falling into disrepair. The second route in Magadan Oblast (Palatka - Ust-Omchug - Omchak - Bolshevik) is known as “Tenkinskaya” or “Northern” road”.
Highway construction history
In the 1920s, with the development of the mining industry, the Soviet Union launched the construction of a road network in Yakutia and Kolyma. In November 1931, Dalstroy, the State Trust for Industrial and Road Construction in the Upper Kolyma region, was established. It was aimed at constructing a highway from Magadan to Ust-Nera with a branch to Yakutsk. Sevvostlag prisoners became the main labor force. By the summer of 1932, the first 30 km of the road with a hard surface and 90 km of winter road had been built by imprisoned and contract workers. The remaining 1,042 km section to Ust-Nera had been constructed by 1953.
The construction of the Khandyga Highway leading to Yakutsk through the settlement of Khandyga began at the end of 1941.
The Kolyma Highway became 13 km longer on July 11, 2003. It was extended to the post office building in the center of Yakutsk.
On October 25, 2008, the highway was officially opened for year-round traffic along its entire length after maintenance in the Oymyakon district of Yakutia and construction of a number of bridges.
A gravel-soil roadbed covers most of the road. According to drivers, the road condition is fairly good and can be traversed by passenger cars in summer.
It is possible to travel year-round practically along the entire length of the road. However, it is impossible to use the road during the off-season because there is no bridge across the Aldan River.
The location of settlements and points between Yakutsk and Oymyakon (recorded during the tour to Oymyakon in 2011). Kilometerage and altitude: Yakutsk 110 N.Bestyakh sett. 20 160 Tyungyulyu sett. 75 143 Watershed 245 Churapcha vill. 177 185 Ytyk-Kyuyol vill. 256 170 the Aldan R. 388 97 Khandyga sett. 432 121 Teply Klyuch sett. 504 Tomporuk Pass 543 508 Shaman Spring 575 430 Lastochkino Gnezdo (Swallow’s Nest) danger area (d.a.) 585 492 Zhyolty Prigim (Yellow Abyss) d.a. 608 543-564 Chyorny Prigim (Black Abyss) d.a. 613 684-573 Chyortova Vorota (bridge) 672 1015 Zayachya Petlya (Hare Loop) d.a. 674 1090 Zaboyny (watershed) 700? 1311 Kyubume gas station 754 1027 Suntar R. 890 Agayakan R. 771 Yuchyugey sett. 863 816 Urduk Sis 1032 Tomtor sett. 923 712 Oymyakon sett. 963 668
Photos: Mikhail Mestnikov
The R504 Kolyma Federal Highway (former index - M56) is an operating 2,032 km long federal highway between Yakutsk and Magadan, with 1,197 km in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and 835 km in the Magadan Oblast. The road also has a historical name - the Kolyma Route, which it is known by in literature and mass media (some authors use a synonym - the Kolyma Trakt).
Today the Kolyma is one of the key highways of the Russian Far East. It passes through Yakutia and Magadan Oblast, connecting the eastern regions of Yakutia with the central and western regions of Magadan and serving as a gateway to the Pacific Ocean.
The road starts in Nizhny Bestyakh adjoining the A360 Lena Federal Highway and passes through the settlements of Tyungyulyu, Churapcha, Ytyk-Kyuyol, Khandyga, Ust-Nera, Artyk, Kadykchan, Susuman, Yagodnoye, Debin, Orotukan, Myakit, Atka, Palatka and ends in Magadan.
The Kolyma Highway has two historical branches. The first route, predominantly passing through Yakutia (Kyubume - Tomtor - Kuranakh-Sala - Kadykchan), is known as the “Southern” or “Oymyakonskaya” road. This is the historical Kolyma Highway which was built much earlier than the modern highway and is now gradually falling into disrepair. The second route in Magadan Oblast (Palatka - Ust-Omchug - Omchak - Bolshevik) is known as “Tenkinskaya” or “Northern” road”.
Highway construction history
In the 1920s, with the development of the mining industry, the Soviet Union launched the construction of a road network in Yakutia and Kolyma. In November 1931, Dalstroy, the State Trust for Industrial and Road Construction in the Upper Kolyma region, was established. It was aimed at constructing a highway from Magadan to Ust-Nera with a branch to Yakutsk. Sevvostlag prisoners became the main labor force. By the summer of 1932, the first 30 km of the road with a hard surface and 90 km of winter road had been built by imprisoned and contract workers. The remaining 1,042 km section to Ust-Nera had been constructed by 1953.
The construction of the Khandyga Highway leading to Yakutsk through the settlement of Khandyga began at the end of 1941.
The Kolyma Highway became 13 km longer on July 11, 2003. It was extended to the post office building in the center of Yakutsk.
On October 25, 2008, the highway was officially opened for year-round traffic along its entire length after maintenance in the Oymyakon district of Yakutia and construction of a number of bridges.
A gravel-soil roadbed covers most of the road. According to drivers, the road condition is fairly good and can be traversed by passenger cars in summer.
It is possible to travel year-round practically along the entire length of the road. However, it is impossible to use the road during the off-season because there is no bridge across the Aldan River.
The location of settlements and points between Yakutsk and Oymyakon (recorded during the tour to Oymyakon in 2011). Kilometerage and altitude: Yakutsk 110 N.Bestyakh sett. 20 160 Tyungyulyu sett. 75 143 Watershed 245 Churapcha vill. 177 185 Ytyk-Kyuyol vill. 256 170 the Aldan R. 388 97 Khandyga sett. 432 121 Teply Klyuch sett. 504 Tomporuk Pass 543 508 Shaman Spring 575 430 Lastochkino Gnezdo (Swallow’s Nest) danger area (d.a.) 585 492 Zhyolty Prigim (Yellow Abyss) d.a. 608 543-564 Chyorny Prigim (Black Abyss) d.a. 613 684-573 Chyortova Vorota (bridge) 672 1015 Zayachya Petlya (Hare Loop) d.a. 674 1090 Zaboyny (watershed) 700? 1311 Kyubume gas station 754 1027 Suntar R. 890 Agayakan R. 771 Yuchyugey sett. 863 816 Urduk Sis 1032 Tomtor sett. 923 712 Oymyakon sett. 963 668
Photos: Mikhail Mestnikov