Webcam Irkutsk. Baikalsky Trakt, Novaya Dacha shopping center online
Baikalsky Trakt (old name Zamorsky Trakt) is a highway in the Irkutsk region connecting Irkutsk and Listvyanka settlement on Baikal (at the source of the Angara River). It is part of the federal highway M55 under the designation M55L. Its length is 68 km.
The Baikal (Zamorsky) tract was laid in the 18th century. It connected the Irkutsk province and the Transbaikal Region. Starting within the limits of Irkutsk, the road went through the villages Razvodnaya, Taltsinskoye, Nikolskoye, Listvenichnoye. In summer time it went by steamships through Baikal lake to Transbaikalia. In winter (in the middle of January) an "ice road" along Baikal was established.
Cargo, mail, passengers were transported along the Baikal road, detainee parties passed by. In 1890th mail was transported along Baikal road every week on Thursdays. Within the borders of Irkutsk province there were three post stations on the Baikal track: Patronovskaya, Taltsinskaya and Listvenichnaya. The average distance between them was 20.3 versts. In the 1860s there were 9 pairs of postal horses, 2 pairs of commoners (one pair at each station) and 1 stage horse (4 pairs) at post stations of the Baikal track for postal-passenger transportation.
In 1889 there were 54 horses (18 horses at each station). In 1889 treasury paid 38 322 p. to their owners for upkeep of postal horses on Baikal route. Travelling along Baikal road from Irkutsk to Listvenichnaya station cost for a traveler in the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th 1 rouble 83 kopecks. The charge was per ferry; it was determined by the distance between the stations. The cost of a verst of the way was set at 3 kopecks. Transportation, post stations upkeep and repairs on Baikal road were made by the peasants of Baikal villages of Irkutsk province and Transbaikal region.
The Baikal Trakt became a road with modern pavement in the early 1960s, for the visit of a government delegation headed by President Eisenhower of the United States. The visit was cancelled, but the tract cemented its status as a VIP highway for delegations of all levels. The once tedious route became a pleasant hour-long car ride.
Nowadays there are a number of problems on this highway, one of which is traffic jams. The most strenuous part is from the zero to the 28th kilometer, where there are a large number of gardeners and there is no junction at such settlements as Molodezhny and Novorazvodnaya, the population of which has already reached 15 thousand people.
Therefore, reconstruction of Baikalskiy tract is extremely necessary. In the near future, they say in the administration of the Irkutsk district, the work will begin at the most problematic part of the highway: from Irkutsk to the village Novaya Lisikha. All of the above, according to the regional and district authorities, will greatly relieve the traffic flow and have a positive impact not only on the image of the Irkutsk region, but also on the whole region, because the village Listvyanka is a kind of visiting card of Priangarye and attracts tourists from all over the world.
