Tengrinews.kz — Almaty continues to construct new feeder roads to the Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD). By the end of 2026, traffic is expected to open on the extensions of Abay Avenue and Sain Street, while the launch date for Ryskulov Avenue remains unconfirmed. Tengrinews provides an update on the project stages and assesses whether these new arteries can alleviate congestion at the city’s entrances.
Which roads will open by the end of the year
Almaty is planned to be connected to the Big Almaty Ring Road via several new major highways. These will create additional exits from the city toward the suburbs and BAKAD.
According to the Akimat, authorities aim to provide through-passage in two directions by the end of the year:
- the extension of Abay Avenue;
- the extension of Sain Street.
In these and other sectors, a bridge over the Aksay River and overpasses across BAKAD and railway tracks are under construction. The overall completion rate of these facilities is estimated at approximately 50 percent.
Simultaneously, the city continues to acquire land parcels located within the construction zones. For Abay Avenue, 71 out of 82 plots have been purchased, and for Ryskulov Avenue, 172 out of 190. Land acquisition for Sain Street has been fully completed.
"Last year, we decided to use the city budget to finalize the buyout of land plots within the regional territory and complete the roads to BAKAD ourselves. All projects have been transferred to us; they are currently being adjusted, but work continues in parallel. Construction funds are allocated, contractors are in place, and I am setting the task to ensure traffic access to BAKAD via the Abay Avenue and Sain Street extensions within the current year," stated Almaty Akim Erbolat Dosaev.
Status of Ryskulov Avenue
The extension of Ryskulov Avenue is also part of the project, though an opening date has not yet been announced. Work is ongoing, but land acquisition is incomplete: the city still needs to purchase 18 remaining plots.
In total, Almaty is planned to be connected to BAKAD by six roads. In addition to Abay, Ryskulov, and Sain, the list includes Tlendiyev Street, Akan Sery Street, and the Northern Ring Road.
Will the new roads eliminate traffic jams?
Sustainable transport specialist Roman Barabanov believes that the new exits will help distribute traffic flow and simplify the commute to BAKAD. However, they will not solve the congestion issues in Almaty and its suburbs on their own.
BAKAD was primarily built as a bypass for transit and freight transport. Meanwhile, daily bottlenecks at Almaty’s entrances are largely due to the high number of suburban residents commuting into the city via private vehicles.
According to the expert, a noticeable improvement can only be achieved alongside the development of public transport. This requires:
- dedicated bus lanes;
- traffic light priority for public transport;
- convenient stops and safe pedestrian crossings;
- transport interchange hubs at the Almaty border and in the suburbs;
- feeder routes to bring residents from villages to these hubs, where they can then travel quickly into the city.
How much do the feeder roads to BAKAD cost?
The construction of the six exit highways to BAKAD was first announced in 2023. At that time, the total cost of the projects was estimated at more than 60 billion tenge.
Later, Almaty decided to finalize the land buyouts in the Almaty Region at its own expense to continue road construction to the ring road.
We previously reported that Construction of the road to Lake Kaindy is being completed in the Almaty Region.