Ukraine’s State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure has announced the commencement of rehabilitation work on the highway that leads to the Shepit - Izvoarele Sucevei border crossing on the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Chernivtsi region, the CFTS portal reports.
The rehabilitation work is taking place in a two-kilometer section of the T-26-01 Highway Chernivtsi - Vashkivtsi - Putyla - Ruska Checkpoint, where there is an access road to the Shepit border crossing in the Bukovinian Subcarpathians highlands.
The rehabilitation of the access road will facilitate the resumption of the operation of the Shepit border crossing after its modernization.
The Shepit border crossing was in operation until 2010. It was used by pedestrians. Traffic through the Chernivtsi region to Romania has increased significantly since last year. To increase the throughput capacity of the border in Bukovina and relieve the burden on the only border crossing operating on the Ukrainian-Romanian border (the Porubne - Siret border crossing), the Ukrainian Ministry of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure has opened two new border crossings on the border with Romania (the Krasnoilsk and Diakivtsi border crossings) and started modernizing the border crossings that are in operation.
"Reconstruction of a road in the highlands is a complex, multi-stage process. As a result, the road will be widened to meet modern load parameters. The appropriate infrastructure will be installed to make vehicular and pedestrian traffic comfortable and safe. The key to this is the repair of two bridges, where special equipment is currently working," the ministry said.
The rehabilitation is taking place under the international project "Improvement of Transport Infrastructure in the Chernivtsi - Suceava Cross-Border Region" within the framework of the Joint Operational Program Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020.
