R297 highway

The Russian route R297 or the Amur Highway (so named after the nearby Amur River) is a federal highway in Russia, part of the Trans-Siberian Highway. With a length of 2,100 km (1,300 mi), it is the longest segment, from Chita to Khabarovsk, connecting the paved roads of Siberia with those of the Russian Far East. The construction of the road united the Russian federal highways into a single system stretching from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok. Before completion of the road, the Russian Pacific coast was connected to the rest of the country only by airlines, the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Baikal–Amur Mainline.

For most of its route, the highway parallels the China–Russia border at a distance of 100–200 km (62–124 mi). As of 2010, it still included unpaved sections. It traverses the sparsely populated regions of Zabaykalsky Krai, Amur Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, and Khabarovsk Krai.