In the morning, equipment stands once again on the construction site between the Dnipro-Donbas canal and the border with Poltava region. The company Avtomahistral-Pivden announced the resumption of work on the second phase of the H-31 highway — a 30-kilometer section that has been frozen for five years. For one crew, it's just another workday. For the project — the first movement after several budget cycles without funding.
What is this road and why is it important
The H-31 highway "Dnipro – Tsarychanka – Kobelyaky – Reshetylivka" is a 157.9 km concrete road of the first category with four lanes. It connects Dnipro with the international highway M-03 (Kyiv–Kharkiv) and effectively cuts the distance for trucks from Kremenchuk to Kyiv in half, removing them from Poltava streets.
Construction started in May 2019 as part of the "Big Construction" program. In 2020, the first section was opened bypassing Petrikivka, Loboikivka, Krasne, and Kobelyaky. In 2022, traffic began on the first segment within Dnipropetrovsk region. Then — stop.
"Work on the second phase of the project — a 30-kilometer section from the Dnipro-Donbas canal to the border with Poltava region — has been frozen for the fifth year already"
Avtomahistral-Pivden, Facebook
Where the money comes from
According to the Infrastructure Recovery and Development Service in Poltava region, construction was resumed thanks to state funding attracted through cooperation between the Recovery Agency, the regional service, and Poltava Regional Military Administration. More than 230 million hryvnias from the state budget was directed to work on the H-31 highway in 2024–2025 — across 11 sections simultaneously.
For comparison: the Poltava portion of the highway alone (79.4 km) is valued at 13.6 billion hryvnias in total cost. That means current funding is less than 2% of the required amount for just one of the two regions.
Where construction remains incomplete
- Dnipropetrovsk region: a thawed 30-kilometer section from the Dnipro-Donbas canal to the Poltava border
- Poltava region: approximately 60 km of 79.4 km built; remaining are bypasses around Reshetylivka and an interchange with highway M-03, which requires at least 450 million hryvnias more
- Full completion: First Deputy Head of the State Recovery Agency Andrii Ivko officially tied the completion date to the end of martial law
Logic and risk
Building a strategic road during active combat operations is not absurd, but pragmatism: logistic corridors from Dnipro westward are becoming critical right now. However, a construction site 150 km from the front line is both a target risk and an argument for insurers and contractors regarding working conditions.
The pace deserves separate attention: if 230 million is spread across 11 sections simultaneously, none of them will advance quickly. Concentrating resources on one phase would yield different results — but this is a choice between "showing movement" and "showing results."
If funding in 2026 is maintained at 2024–2025 levels, the Poltava portion of the highway will be completed approximately 15–20 years after the start. Whether post-war reconstruction with international financing will change this calculation depends on whether H-31 ends up on the priority list of donor programs already at the first selection.
