Bridge to Crimea: where is it located and how was it built?

For several years, the Crimean bridge (or as this project is often called “Construction of the Century”) has been the main character of the news - all the media were full of headlines containing this phrase. Despite the fact that most of the bridge has already been erected, there is still a lot of work, workers are working tirelessly at the construction site. In today's article you will learn about what the Crimean bridge is and how the idea of ​​its construction came about.

Generally speaking, the Crimean bridge is a transport passage through the Kerch Strait. This construction unites mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula. The facility consists of a highway and a railway track, with the first part of the bridge already fully constructed and in operation, and the second undergoing a stage of active construction.

It should be noted that The bridge to the Crimea is not only a new, modern and functional object of architecture. In addition to practical, this building has a symbolic meaning - the entry of the Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation. The described bridge is considered the longest not only in Russia, but throughout Europe.

Today, the Crimean bridge plays a huge role in relation to transport links between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula. It is he who provides all passenger and freight traffic from one side to the other.

Initially, it was understood that the bridge would be called Kerch (like the strait through which it passes), but this issue caused great excitement and resonance not only in the press, but also among ordinary citizens, therefore The name of the strategic building was chosen by the joint efforts of the country's inhabitants by voting. As a result, the bridge is called Crimean.

The total length of the Crimean bridge is 19 km. Moreover, the length of road and railway crossings, both of which are components of one large-scale structure, are slightly different. So, the road is a little shorter and is 17 kilometers, and the railway is longer - its figure is 18 kilometers. The highway of the Crimean bridge consists of four stripes.

The maximum speed on this highway is 90 km / h. About 40 thousand cars can pass over the bridge in one day (This indicator is also often called bandwidth).

As for the railways, after the construction is completed they will be a jointless double-track road belonging to the second category. Locomotives will move along the Crimean Bridge railway, the mass of which can reach 7,000 tons. The permitted speed for passenger trains is 120 km / h, and for freight trains - 80 km / h.

It is also important to note that despite the fact that transport crossings as such are not an integral part of the bridge itself, but without them its proper functioning is impossible. So, in order to call on the transport passage through the Kerch Strait, you must get on the 40-kilometer road, which departs from the old route of the A-290 highway within the Krasnodar Territory.

Railway tracks of the Crimean bridge will become an integral part of the Bagerovo – Vyshesteblievskaya line in the territory of Crimea. And in order to call on the railway part of the transport passage from mainland Russia, it will be necessary to overcome the 40-kilometer double-track railway. The Crimean bridge begins on the Taman Peninsula, runs along the island of Tuzla and its spit, crosses the fairway and the Crimean cape Ak-Burun, and then ends in the easternmost city of the peninsula - the hero city of Kerch.

Bridges themselves go through fairly long overpasses. The span length varies, which is explained by the structure of the bottom of the Kerch Strait and ranges from 55 to 63 meters. There are shipping spans in the bridge. These elements pass over the Kerch-Yenikalsky Canal. Their length is about 227 meters, width - 185 meters, and height - 45 meters (with a navigable bridge dimension of 35 meters).

Even at the design stage, the Crimean bridge was conceived as a strong and stable connection, which will stand not for years and decades, but for centuries. For example, it is generally accepted that the bridge will not require repairs in the next 100 years. Due to the fact that the bridge has a rather large length and passes through a body of water, it is quite resistant to a variety of negative seismic processes - it is stated that the structure will withstand even powerful earthquakes, estimated at 9 points.

The idea of ​​building a transport passage through the Kerch Strait, which would connect the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia, is not new or innovative. This issue was discussed for a long time. So, if we turn to historical sources, we can say for certain that the proposals for the construction of such a bridge were heard long before the start of the October Revolution.

However, their plans were interrupted by the advance of domestic soldiers.However, already in the spring of 1944, after the Crimean peninsula was completely liberated from the Nazi invaders, a project was launched to build a railway bridge across the Kerch Strait. Nevertheless, this bridge was destroyed by adverse climatic phenomena, namely, by winds coming from the Sea of ​​Azov. Over time, the structure was completely dismantled and destroyed.

After this, several more attempts were made to organize land communications between the Crimean peninsula and mainland Russia. For example, a project was created for a two-tier bridge, which would consist of two railways and two highways and ran from the Yenikale fortress to the Chushka spit. The project was approved, construction even began, but soon it was discontinued. The construction of the bridge was replaced by the construction of a ferry.

Discussions continued on building a bridge across the strait in the 1970s. However, at that time, the main difficulties were the lack of funds necessary for the implementation of the project. In the 1990s, experts created 4 bridge construction projects, and a whole competition was announced. When Ukrainian authorities dominated the territory of Crimea, this project was again initiated. So, many statesmen of Ukraine have expressed that such a bridge will help establish and strengthen friendly relations between Russia and Ukraine.

Despite the fact that the idea of ​​building the Crimean bridge, according to historical data, existed for a long time (and even some attempts were made to implement this idea), It received its direct implementation only with the advent of Russian power on the Crimean peninsula and the annexation of this territory to the Russian Federation.

So, on March 19, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin set the task for the Ministry of Transport to build a railway and road bridge across the Kerch Strait. Already in the summer of 2014, an estimate was drawn up, and in the winter of 2015, a construction contractor was appointed. In April 2015, the construction of technical buildings began, and by the winter of 2016 the project passed all the necessary examinations and received full approval.

Obviously, the construction of such a grandiose structure as a transport passage through the Kerch Strait is not an easy task. In this regard, preparatory and design work was especially carefully carried out, special attention was paid to the choice of a specific route along which the bridge was supposed to go. So, there were 4 projects in total. Three of them involved the construction of the transition from the Chushka Spit, only one - the construction of the structure along the route passing from the Taman Peninsula through Tuzla. As a result, the fourth option was recognized as optimal. Generally speaking, when choosing a route, a huge number of various factors were taken into account, including the following:

• the length of the bridge;
• the need for rail and road access to it (both in the territory of Crimea and in mainland Russia);
• construction cost;
• development of the port "Caucasus";
• functioning of shipping;
• environmental characteristics;
• social and political environment;
• climatic features of the territory and others.

Thus, based on careful selection, the route through the island of Tuzla was chosen as the most suitable. The main advantages of this option were recognized as follows:

• the presence of the necessary territories on which auxiliary and service facilities can be located;
• lack of need for construction in hazardous tectonic areas;
• lower cost of operation;
• the ability to preserve intact historical and cultural monuments;
• bypassing the zone of activity of mud volcanoes.

In this way, the bridge that leads directly from Kerch to mainland Russia is located on this route. Besides the fact that there were heated debates between the experts regarding the route, the question of what exactly should be built and in what form was discussed for quite some time. For example, the idea was expressed that it was necessary to build not a bridge, but a tunnel. First of all, such a position was supported by the authorities of the Republic of Crimea.

After the decision to build the bridge was finally made, disputes arose over how this object would look. There were several options. So, at the initial stages, the construction of several bridges at the same time was considered, one of which was supposed to provide automobile traffic, and the other - railway.

It was assumed that they will pass between the Taman Peninsula, Tuzlinskaya Spit, Tuzla Island and the city of Kerch. Moreover, their support should have been located not on the bottom of the Kerch Strait, but on land. This option did not find its embodiment, since the transport passage along the embankment was not the best idea. The thing is that The Tuzlinskaya Spit is not a fairly stable formation and is constantly subjected to a variety of dynamic processes.

In the summer of 2014, a preliminary estimate of the project was drawn up, which provided for the necessary financial costs for the construction of a transport passage through the Kerch Strait. Next winter, a design and construction contractor was appointed, namely, the Stroygazmontazh company. This organization ordered the preparation of project documentation from an organization called Giprostroymost - St. Petersburg.

The first technical and auxiliary facilities began to be built in the spring of 2015. Nevertheless, the project still had to go through all the necessary examinations and checks, which happened in February 2016. In the same period, the final cost estimate for the construction of the transport passage that connected the Crimea and mainland Russia was compiled.

In this way, Direct construction of the bridge began in February 2016. The initial stage of work was the immersion of piles, which later became the foundations of the supports of the entire structure. In April of the same year, the first pillars of the existing Crimean bridge were erected.

In fact, this phenomenon has great historical significance not only for Crimeans or Russians, but also for the whole world. The first month of summer 2016 was marked by the beginning of the installation of the first spans. We finished installing the piles of the railway bridge in August 2017. In the same month, transportation and installation of the railway arch took place.

In December 2017, the construction of all the supports for the road bridge and 50% of the supports for the railway crossing took place. In April 2018, the process of laying asphalt pavement on the Crimean Bridge highway was completed. The bridge passed acceptance and was put into operation. Despite the fact that at this stage the construction of the automobile part was completed, the workers still built the railway part.

The opening of the road part of the Crimean bridge, which through the Kerch Strait connected the Russian peninsula and the mainland, was a festive and solemn event that will undoubtedly go down in the history of our country. This event took place on May 15, 2018. The honor of the first passage on the bridge fell to the head of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. This event was broadcast live by many Russian television channels, and all the media wrote about it.

The next day, May 16, everyone could cross the bridge. So, according to statistics, on that day 14,000 vehicles discovered the Crimean Bridge. Thus, already on the first day of the existence of the Crimean bridge, the record of the ferry crossing was broken. Today, all passenger transport links between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula are carried out through the Crimean bridge. With its construction, these processes have become much simpler and faster. Positive feedback on the "Construction of the Century" and Crimeans, and residents of the mainland.

In general, according to official figures, 227.92 billion rubles were spent on the construction of the Crimean bridge. This amount turned out to be less than the originally calculated price by 380 million rubles. So, about 9 billion rubles were spent on design and survey work. The creation of basic structures for both parts of the bridge (road and rail) costs 170 billion rubles. In addition to these costs, the money was directed to preparatory work, the construction of technical buildings and facilities, and so on.

Crimean bridge is one of the most requested phrases in all Internet search engines. Indeed, “Construction of the Century” attracted the attention of not only Russian, but also the world community. However, interest is caused not only by the fact of the construction of the structure, but also by the following events:

• an unofficial mascot of the Crimean bridge was a red cat; he was even called the Bridge;
• in Russia, several feature films and documentaries on the “Construction of the Century” were released;
• the press is often invited to the construction site of the Crimean bridge; such press tours are attended not only by domestic but also foreign journalists;
• a postage stamp with the image of the Crimean bridge was issued on the territory of the Russian Federation; in addition, with a similar image, there are coins and other paraphernalia.

It is worth noting that Crimean bridge is a real miracle created by human hands. Of course, first of all, this object performs strategic and practical functions, providing unhindered transport links between the Crimean peninsula and mainland Russia.

About how the Crimean bridge was built, see the next video.