The Crimean Bridge is a major infrastructure project of the Russian Federation.
The bridge passes through the Kerch Strait and connects the Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia, with the Krasnodar Territory.
Putting the bridge into explantation has truly sacred significance for our country. It marks the unity of Russia and Crimea. Every resident of our country has dreamed of this road since the events of 2014.
Why was the Crimean Bridge built?
Crimean Bridge built to simplify and build new logistics connections between the regions of Russia and the republic. Operation of the bridge solves logistics problems and gives a powerful boost economic development Crimea. The issues of supplying the region with necessary goods, equipment, and sales have been resolved finished products from the region. Prices for goods in the region will become lower as supply chains become cheaper.
The work of the bridge will also significantly boost the economy of Taman, which is practically becoming a suburb of the city of Kerch. Surely new production, housing and logistics centers. After the bridge is put into operation, we can expect rapid growth of the Crimean economy in agriculture, ship repair and shipbuilding, chemical industry.
Crimean Bridge photo
The tourism sector should also be highlighted. Logistics accessibility and lower prices for goods and services can spur domestic tourism to growth.
Length of the Crimean Bridge
The length of the Crimean Bridge is 19 kilometers.
Cost of the Crimean Bridge
The total cost of the Crimean Bridge was 227.92 billion rubles.
Opening of the Crimean Bridge
The Crimean Bridge was opened earlier than planned. It was planned that the first cars would cross the bridge on December 18, 2018. But the opening took place on May 15, 2018. The facility was solemnly opened by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin himself, driving across the bridge in a KAMAZ. The opening ceremony of the bridge was broadcast on Channel One and Rossiya 24. The railway bridge is scheduled to open on December 1, 2019.
Crimean Bridge characteristics
The bridge is unique not only for Russia, but also for the world. The bridge consists of two parallel roads - a road and a railway. The length of the bridge is 19 kilometers. Part of the route passes along the existing dam and the island of Tuzla.
The Crimean Bridge highway consists of four lanes. The permitted speed is 120 kilometers per hour. Bandwidth highways forty thousand cars per day. The railway is capable of handling forty-seven pairs of trains per day. Passenger trains move at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour, freight trains - 80. During the operation of the bridge, navigation in Kerch Strait. The arched spans reach a length of 227 meters and a height of 35 meters above the water.
Who is the customer of the project?
The customer of the bridge project is - “ Federal Administration Taman highways"
Who is the project contractor?
The project contractor is Stroygazmontazh.
Bridge designer
The design of the bridge was carried out by ZAO Gidrostroymost Institute St. Petersburg.
Security of the Crimean Bridge
The Crimean Bridge is an eyesore in the eyes of the Western public. That's why Russian Federation devotes Special attention protection of such an important infrastructure project. In October 2017, the Russian Guard formed naval brigade, which is engaged in the protection of the territory. The detachment has Project 21980 “Rook” anti-sabotage boats and combat swimmers at its disposal.
Bridge supports protected hydraulic structures from rams of possible pests and saboteurs. The perimeter of the bridge, inspection systems, video cameras, and security posts with armored vehicles are also actively guarded.
Technical characteristics and features of the Crimean Bridge
The bridge stands on 595 supports. The supports themselves stand on pile foundations. During construction, more than seven thousand different piles were driven. The piles are driven to a depth of 12 on land, and up to 90 meters on water.
Crimean Bridge project photo
Many of the bridge's metal structures are in the water. Therefore, when designing, special protective structures were provided. The builders used waterproof concrete and tried to eliminate all the cracks and cracks where water penetrates and corrosion occurs.
- The idea of building a bridge connecting Crimea and Taman appeared back in the 11th century. Prince Gleb walked on the ice here in 1064. His journey was about 30 kilometers. At that time, it was not possible to build such a bridge; there were many technical problems.
- In the 19th century, Great Britain dreamed of a direct railway line to India. So in 1870, the British seriously considered the possibility of building a bridge. But the high cost of the project and technical aspects were not allowed to implement the plans.
- There was also a dream about a bridge across the Kerch project, but it destroyed the emperor’s plans.
- During the Great Patriotic War Crimea was under occupation. The Germans decided to build a bridge to supply provisions and weapons to the Caucasus. But soon Crimea was liberated. The bridge was completed by Soviet engineers.
- The first Crimean Bridge stood for six months. There is a legend that Stalin himself rode along it. The bridge was destroyed by ice in the spring of the victorious 1945
- The ferry service between Taman and Kerch was launched in 1954.
- The new bridge is the longest in Russia.
- Before the start of construction, the territory was examined by sappers and archaeologists. During the years there were bloody battles here, sappers found more than 700 unexploded shells. Archaeologists have discovered many objects from antiquity, Bronze Age and the Middle Ages.
- The Crimean Bridge passes through a seismically active area. But the engineers went around all the joints tectonic plates, securing the object. Besides engineering structure seriously strengthened, and the bridge is not afraid of any landslides or earthquakes.
- One bridge support required 400 tons of metal structures. From all the supports, 32 Eiffel Towers could be built.
- The construction of the bridge involved 3,500 thousand workers and engineers from different regions Russia
Results
Crimean Bridge, a unique structure that marks a new milestone in the history of Russia. Despite all the difficulties, sanctions, international pressure, the country is coming choosing the right course. The course is aimed at comprehensive development, progress, independence from external context.
The idea of creation transport crossing Crimea was revived with the annexation of the peninsula into Russia in 2014. The epitome of this grandiose project will allow connecting the Crimean region with the mainland of the state, will open great opportunities to activate the tourism industry of Crimea, and Russians will have the right to visit the peninsula without having to cross.
Surely, every Russian is interested in the question of how the construction of the bridge to Crimea is going and when it will be built. Now it is in full swing, and this article carefully examines the Kerch Bridge project itself and its features.
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Update May 15, 2018. It's finished! Read our article about the solemn ceremony. From May 16, everyone will be able to travel to Crimea by car across the bridge!
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History of the Kerch Bridge. In fact, the idea of the bridge arose a long time ago, back during the Russian Empire, under Tsar Nicholas II. The original sketch of the project was created back in 1910, but the bridge was not built due to the outbreak of the First World War.
Then they returned to the bridge project in the 30s, during the time of Stalin (who built it in Malaya Sosnovka). Then the idea was to build a railway across the Kerch Strait, but the implementation of the bridge was prevented by the outbreak of World War II.
In 1944, in as soon as possible, the railway bridge was erected in seven months, which, however, was dismantled in 1945 due to damage to part of the supports by ice from the Sea of Azov.
Another sketch of the project, taking into account all the errors, was created in 1949, but it was also not implemented.
Russia and Ukraine actively discussed the creation of a transport crossing through the Kerch Strait in 2010-2013, and a bilateral agreement was concluded. But the construction of the Kerch Bridge began after Crimea joined the Russian Federation.
This project is technically very complex. From several options, a sketch of a bridge across the Kerch Strait with a total length of 19 kilometers across the Tuzla Spit was chosen. The bridge will have 4 lanes highway with a speed of 120 km/h and 2 tracks for railway transport.
Length of the Kerch Bridge to Crimea
The bridge's capacity is up to forty thousand vehicles per day. It is stated that travel along the highway will be free. Although there is a lot of debate in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet as to whether travel across the bridge will be free for motorists. Every now and then opinions and rumors appear that they will still charge some kind of fee for travel.
The exact answer will be known when traffic begins on the Kerch Bridge, but judging by indirect evidence, it will still be free. For example, this is evidenced by the fact that no funds from foreign investors were involved in the construction. The entire project is funded by the state. Perhaps this was done specifically to preserve free travel for cars.
The Stroygazmontazh company of the famous Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg was appointed as the contracting company for the construction of this grandiose project. 
At least 70 proposals were considered before choosing this company. It was necessary to find a contractor who met all the requirements for construction time, cost and contract performance guarantees.
This company has good experience for the construction of such a project. Stroygazmontazh is the main contractor of Gazprom for the construction of gas pipelines.
Also, Stroygazmontazh LLC has the right to attract subcontractors: it is known that certain negotiations were held with companies from South Korea to attract professionals to work.
Construction cost
How much does the bridge to Crimea cost? Kerch Bridge will be one of the most expensive bridges in the world due to the complexity of constructing the structure. The initial cost was 50 billion rubles, but then it increased due to the combination of road and railway lines. The price increase was also influenced by the weakening of the Russian currency against the US dollar.
In the winter of 2015, based on the results of bidding, the maximum cost of work was established - it amounted to 228.3 billion rubles.
The construction of a transport crossing across the strait is financed by the state from the National Welfare Fund.
Length and width of the Kerch Bridge
The bridge structure is being built along the Tuzla Spit. This will allow the use of a small area of land in the strait to strengthen the entire structure. To meet the time frame, construction is being carried out in several places at once.
The length of the bridge to Crimea is 19 km. Among them:
- 7 km: section of the sea from the Tuzla Spit to the island of the same name;
- 6.5 km: land area on the island;
- 6.1 km: section of the sea from the island to Kerch.
The width of the bridge will consist of four lanes of 3.75 m each, a 3.75 m wide shoulder and 0.75 m of reinforced shoulder.
The depth of the Kerch Strait at the bridge construction site
The width of the Kerch Strait is from 4.5 to 15 km. Maximum depth- 18 meters.
The support piles will be anchored to stable bedrock to strengthen the entire structure. The piles will be buried in the ground to a depth of 90 m.
For this we will use:
- reinforced concrete supports for immersion up to 16 m in the Kerch area;
- piles made of pipes with a reinforced concrete core for immersion up to 94 m in the main section;
- supports made of reinforced concrete for immersion up to 45 meters in the Taman Peninsula area.
Delivery and completion of construction of the Kerch Bridge
Undoubtedly, everyone is looking forward to the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. This large-scale project is planned to be implemented as soon as possible (within four years). According to the plan, it can be launched as early as December 2018 labor movement. The final completion date for the Kerch Bridge is June 2019.
Bridge over the Kerch Strait on the map
Get to the Crimean peninsula from Russian territory through new bridge it will be possible in Krasnodar region, on the Taman Peninsula.
Kerch Strait and bridge to Crimea on the map:
In addition to the bridge itself, approaches to it will also be built: road and railways so that residents and guests of Russia can freely move from Crimea to the mainland of the state, and back. These approaches will be part of the A-290 Novorossiysk-Kerch highway, which passes through the city of Anapa.
From the side, the length of the approach will be 22 km, from the Taman Peninsula - 40 km.
The construction and commissioning of the Kerch Bridge will open up great prospects in the field of domestic tourism in Russia. To visit Kerch, Simferopol, have a good tan on the Black Sea shore, swim and simply travel through the wild places of Crimea, you will not need to prepare a foreign passport. All you have to do is buy a train ticket or get into your car - and you can go on a trip!
Video about the construction of the Kerch Bridge:
The whole of Crimea is looking forward to the main event of the year - launch of the first part of the Construction of the Century. And what summer is getting closer, the more often we are interested in the question - when will the Crimean Bridge, or rather its road part, open? In this article we tried to collect all the useful and official information regarding the Construction of the Century, weed out myths, and also give your opinion on how the opening of the bridge will affect the lives of Crimeans.
Crimean Bridge - when will it open?
Around the end of April, we were already ready that the Bridge was about to be officially opened. First they talked about the May holidays, then about May 9 and the opening on Victory Day. However, it was all rather " popular speculation“, no official statements have been received. The other day, a post appeared on the pages of the Crimean Bridge on social networks about myths about the Crimean Bridge, including opening dates.
As it turned out, the official opening is planned in the second half of May. In order to weed out existing myths and prevent future ones, we made a visual infographic about the planned opening dates different parts bridge, including road.
Source: Official page Crimean Bridge on Facebook.
Recently appeared in the media new information about the opening of the Crimean Bridge May 15 or 16, 2018. The source of information is not named, but refers to reliable sources close to the Kremlin. It is also said that the opening of the bridge will definitely be attended by President Putin, on whose busy schedule the final date depends.
On May 14, it was finally officially announced - the Crimean Bridge opens “May 16th from 05:30 and forever! Traffic will begin simultaneously on both sides of the bridge - two lanes each maximum speed 90 km/h, without stopping on the bridge. The day before, the Crimean Bridge will be officially opened by bridge builders - a column of construction equipment will be the first to cross the bridge.
Traffic diagram across the Crimean Bridge
The State Road Committee of Crimea has published traffic diagram across the Kerch Bridge, according to which cars and passenger buses can freely use the bridge, which cannot be said about trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons- they will have to use it ferry crossing.
A detailed description of the approach to the bridge can be found on the website of the Ministry of Roads of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Source: gkdor.rk.gov.ru
Consequences of the opening of the Kerch Bridge
It was not without reason that the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait was dubbed the Construction of the Century. Firstly, the bridge will become the longest in Russia and one of the longest in Europe. Its length is 19 kilometers. Secondly, by connecting Crimea to the mainland, the bridge will make it possible to quickly and easily travel from the Russian mainland to Crimea and vice versa.
After the bridge is launched, experts predict general decline in prices in Crimea for goods consumer consumption, gasoline and diesel fuel. The presence of the bridge will also have a beneficial effect on tourism on the peninsula, significantly facilitating the journey for guests in private cars and relieving the ferry crossing.
For now, you can get to Crimea by ferry, where, due to the large flow of tourists, the situation is very difficult situation. During the holiday season, about 2 thousand cars accumulate at the crossing and have to wait for their turn for days.
In order to select the most optimal option for laying the bridge, 74 options were analyzed. The potential intensity of automobile and railway transport, construction costs, feasibility of constructing tunnel crossings.
Experts immediately named the “Tuzlinsky alignment” as the most likely, since this particular route of the Kerch Bridge was initially shorter than others, by 10-15 km. However, its main advantage is its remoteness from the Kerch ferry crossing and intensive shipping.
This option also makes it possible to use the 750-meter wide Tuzlinskaya Spit. It is proposed to lay a road and railway along it, which will reduce the number of bridge crossings by 6.5 km, which means that the labor intensity and cost of construction will be reduced significantly.
The first bridge, 1.4 km long, will run from the Taman Peninsula to Tuzla Island, and the second, 6.1 km long, is designed to connect Tuzla with the Kerch Peninsula. Total length The bridge will be about 19 km.
On the Crimean coast there will be a highway to the M-17 highway 8 km long and a railway 17.8 km long to the station. Bagerovo, through which the railway passes republican significance. In the Krasnodar Territory, a 41 km long highway to the M-25 road and a 42 km long railway to the Vyshesteblievskaya intermediate station are being designed. railway Caucasus-Crimea.
Few people know, but the railway bridge across the Kerch Strait has already been built once. More than fifty years ago, when the Germans still hoped to gain complete power over all of Eurasia, Hitler nurtured a blue dream - to connect Germany with the Persian Gulf countries by rail through the Kerch Strait. During the occupation of the peninsula fascist troops Steel structures were brought to Crimea for the construction of the bridge. Work began in the spring of 1944, after the liberation of the Crimean peninsula from the Nazi invaders.
On November 3, 1944, railway traffic was opened on the bridge. However, after just three months, the bridge's supports were destroyed by ice. Having lost its strategic importance, the bridge was dismantled and replaced by a ferry crossing. However, regardless of such a seemingly primitive design, the construction of a bridge of such length on a sea strait in wartime is historical event and technical achievement.
The new Kerch Bridge is supposed to be made of two levels, since it should include railway tracks and a highway. At the same time, on some sections of the bridge, trains will move parallel to cars, and on others, they will pass over or under them.
Many Russians note that the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait is a real construction XXI century. There has never been a construction project of this scale in the history of Russia! Below you can find out all the details and features of construction, which will be presented last news, photographs, characteristics of the future design.
What is the Crimean Bridge?
The bridge, which will connect the Taman Peninsula of continental Russia with that in the east of Crimea, promises to be a discovery in the coming years. This is because it will provide the opportunity for continuous communication between the Russian Federation and Tavrida - by rail and road.
Where is the bridge located on the map?
It will be located in the Kerch Strait, passing from Taman through the spit and the island of Tuzla and reaching the southern part of the city of Kerch, to the Nizhnyaya Cementnaya Slobodka microdistrict. Here is its location on the map:
Open map
Main characteristics
Reportedly, the total length of the structure will be 19 km, with bridges only on the Taman-Tuzla and Tuzla-Kerch sections, their length being 1.4 and 6.1 km, respectively. How many kilometers will it take to cross Taman Peninsula and Tuzlinskaya Spit? Based on the calculation - 5 and 6.5 km.
Briefly about the history of the first Kerch Bridge
Of course, we could not ignore the fact that the current Crimean Bridge project is not the first. The idea to build it through arose back when Russian Empire, at the beginning of the 20th century, however, attempts at implementation occurred only in 1942-1943, and not by Soviet, but by German developers, during the Second World War. But they failed to implement their ideas: the Red Army launched a counteroffensive.
In 1944, the USSR authorities decided to build the Kerch railway bridge. Due to the relative simplicity of the design, work proceeded very quickly - movement began here at the end of the year. However, by using simple techniques, using partially wooden piles and span elements, the managers ended up with a vulnerable structure that quickly fell into disrepair.
The first Crimean bridge 1944 Other attempts were made, plans and projects were developed, but they were not implemented - in 1950 at the top Soviet Union decided to stop construction works and come to grips with the construction of a ship through which both cargo and passenger ships reach Crimea to this day.
Yes, Kerch Bridge - complex project, both technically and ideologically. However, by taking a competent approach to the matter and analyzing in detail the features of the local landscape, you can bring it to life, which is what Russian specialists are doing now. Very soon we will have that long-awaited moment of opening a new, truly grandiose transport hub, multiplying the tourist flow by !