The road through Losiny Ostrov will not be widened: the reconstruction contract has been terminated.

The contract to reconstruct the road through Losiny Ostrov National Park and widen it to four lanes has been officially terminated. Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Region Government Artur Garibyan announced this to forest defenders Marina Antonova and Olga Lyubimenko. However, environmental activists believe the pause may be temporary.

Financial problems and concerns of environmental activists

In particular, activists speculate that the contract termination is solely due to the authorities' financial problems. Consequently, they fear that in a year or two, officials may sign new agreements and resume construction.

Furthermore, activists are insisting on the complete exclusion of road expansion provisions from the Moscow Region State Program. However, regional officials are still evading a final decision and promise to respond within a month.

The fight for a national park and the consequences of construction

Local residents remain convinced that the road running through the forest is illegal, and they intend to seek a complete closure. Forest defenders previously sent a petition to the presidential administration demanding that plans to expand the highway and further "improvements" of the national park, which have ultimately resulted in construction, be abandoned.

Environmental activists have been trying to protect Losiny Ostrov from roadworks for over a year, and have been repeatedly detained by police for their protests. As a result, as experts warned, the park's moose migration routes have already been disrupted, and rare plant and bird species have been harmed.