Moscow authorities have made a U-turn on their earlier plans to plough huge investment into road construction and upgrade.

      According to Vedomosti, the budget for new roads in the updated plan which has just been approved has been almost slashed, from RUR 413 billion to RUR 272 billion.

      Many critical projects have been frozen while some have become more expensive.

      This runs counter to the pledges made by the newly-elected mayor who vowed major improvements for motorists before the vote.