Crimean bridge: all about the construction of the XXI century in the Crimea. Construction of a bridge to the Crimea - latest news

The Kerch Strait, almost 41 km long, 5-18 m deep and 4-15 km wide, flows between the Taman Peninsula in the east and the Kerch Peninsula in the west, connecting the Crimea and the Caucasus, the Black and Azov Seas.
Most major port on the Kerch Strait modern name strait, replacing the ancient Cimmerian Bosporus and the medieval Taman Strait. Since ancient times, the Kerch Strait conditionally separates Asia and Europe.

Detailed map of the depths of the Kerch Strait,

We are not responsible for the accuracy of the data on the map!

Commercial fishing has been carried out in the strait for several months. Built during the existence of the USSR, the Volga-Don Canal linked into a single shipping system, in addition to the Azov and Black Seas, the Baltic, Caspian and White Seas.

On the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov with an area of ​​less than 38 thousand km2, there are settlements Crimea Krasnodar Territory, Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine and Rostov region RF. Being the smallest inland sea region, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov provides a significant amount of fish products of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and its Sivash Bay provides salt and salt for the chemical industry.

Map diagram from the atlas of navigation in the strait

Attention ! This card not designed for safe navigation, due to the fact that it is not detailed enough!

The Black Sea with a depth exceeding 2.2 thousand km and an area of ​​more than 400 thousand km2 through the Bosporus connects 5 seas, united by the Volga-Don Canal, with the Mediterranean and Marmara seas.
The salinity of the water in the Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas differs sharply and amounts to 37, 18 and 11%, respectively. The water of the Black Sea at a depth exceeding 150 m is supersaturated with hydrogen sulfide, which excludes the existence of organisms in it that require oxygen for their vital activity.

Satellite map online of the Kerch Strait

80% of the fauna of the upper layers of the Black Sea are anadromous sea ​​views Marble and mediterranean seas migrating through the Bosphorus (eel, sturgeon, herring and others). 20% of the fauna are brackish marine species. freshwater native species live in estuarine areas and desalinated bays (sterlet and others). Some species of fish (Azov anchovy), having wintered in the Black Sea, migrate to spawn through the Kerch Strait to the Sea of ​​Azov, others (mackerel, tuna, bonito), having wintered in the Mediterranean Sea, migrate through the Bosphorus Strait in the summer to the Black Sea.

In the Black Sea, the fauna is represented by almost 2500 species of sea inhabitants, in the Azov Sea there are more than 600 species. In order to prevent disturbance of the natural balance of flora and fauna by human activity, the volume of fishing and algae production is limited, pollution of water basins is prevented, valuable species of marine fauna are artificially bred, and nature reserves are established.

The Kerch Strait was chosen as a place from the Kuban to the Crimea.

Kerch Bridge or Kerch Strait Tunnel , the idea to build a crossing across the Kerch Strait was not born yesterday. And not yesterday. It was intended to cross it on dry land during the time of the Bosporan kingdom and the Tmutarakan principality. In 1068, the Russian prince Gleb Svyatoslavovich measured the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchevo (Kerch) on the ice. But things did not go further than this - good intentions were drowned in a series of endless wars.
In the 19th century the line of the famous Indo-European telegraph was laid through the Kerch Strait, connecting London with India, for the most short cut to India passes through the Crimea and the Caucasus. The British government even considered building a transcontinental railway, including crossings across the English Channel and the Kerch Strait. What got in the way? Yes, financial difficulties and the struggle against colonialism. The idea of ​​the British, but taking into account Russian interests, was also considered by Nicholas II, at the direction of which even (!) They developed a project for the Kerch crossing.

so, perhaps, the Kerch bridge will become in the near future

Under Soviet rule, I.V. Stalin also showed interest in the idea of ​​the crossing, but these plans were also confused by the war. Crimea was occupied by fascist troops. The leaders of the Third Reich immediately attended to the problem of crossing the strait. Adolf Hitler in 1943 personally ordered Armaments Minister Albert Speer to start building a bridge across Kerch Strait for automotive and railway transport- in order to facilitate the capture of the oil-bearing regions of the Caucasus. In perspective Kerch bridge was also considered as an important link for organizing a trans-Eurasian corridor to India, to its innumerable natural wealth. However, the Germans managed to build only a cable car over the strait and began to bring metal structures, cement and other building materials to Kerch.

German pendant cable car across the Kerch Strait 1943

Soviet aviation noticed unusual activity on the Kerch Peninsula, but ... It was forbidden to bomb warehouses - Stalin planned to complete the construction begun by the Germans (!).
Indeed, when in 1944 the Soviet troops drove the Nazis out of the Crimea, work began to boil on the shores of the Kerch Strait. The 4.5 km long bridge was built in 6.5 months(!). In November 1944, he was accepted into temporary operation. In February 1945, a train of the Soviet delegation, which was returning from the Yalta Conference, passed through it.
And a few days later the bridge was destroyed by storms and powerful ice drift from the Sea of ​​Azov. The shelling of ice fields from coastal guns, their bombing from aircraft did not help - 15 spans fell into disrepair.

Bridge across the Kerch Strait 44
after standing for three months, it was destroyed by ice drift, about 15 spans were damaged, the restoration was considered unprofitable

Stalin delved into the situation, realized that nature could not be argued and did not punish anyone. After the end of the war, the bridge was examined by a special commission, which decided to design a capital bridge worth about 2 billion rubles of that time, a fabulous sum for those times (by the way, only the project is now estimated at one and a half billion, they want from the previous experience of grandiose constructions, I think they will master and two). Introducing the project, Deputy People's Commissar of Railways I. Gotsiridze said: "Comrade Stalin, this will be the king-bridge." Iosif Vissarionovich, as always, puffed on his pipe, and drawing out his words, after thinking, he remarked: “Comrade Gotsiridze, we overthrew the tsar in 1917.” Fate has been resolved...

Kerch ferry crossing

As a result; in 1953, a ferry crossing was built, which, at the very least, operates to this day. The operation of the crossing was initially provided by four railway ferries - Zapolyarny, Severny, Yuzhny and Vostochny. It is interesting that these ferries were planned to be used at the railway crossing under construction across the Yenisei in Igarka, but in 1953 this construction was closed (well, we are not lucky with the development of the North). And the ferries were sent to the Crimea. Later, three car ferries were put into operation: Kerch-1, Kerch-2 and Yeysk.
Modern collisions Kerch bridge through the Kerch Strait .
This problem has regained particular relevance at the end of the 21st century.
In 2006, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine even began to develop a project for a bridge across the strait, but next year, WE, or rather the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Russia, declared our readiness to finance the construction, but who heard about it? Who then was interested in this bridge? Well, then, the devil himself will break his leg.
In 2007, the Russian firm Spetsfundamentstroy developed a project worth $480 million (!). In two years (!) it was supposed to build a structure where there would be two railway tracks, several lanes highway and even a footpath. The project also provided for the possibility of transiting liquefied gas in tanks, laying an oil pipeline, power lines and water pipelines to the Crimea along it. However, on October 21, 2008, the government of Ukraine refused to finance the construction, citing the uncertainty of the borders along the Kerch Strait. The theme of crossing the strait gained a second wind with the coming to the leadership of the country in 2010, Viktor Yanukovych, who signed an agreement with the President of Russia on the construction of a transport crossing across the strait. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine began to consider various options for a transport passage through the Kerch Strait, including the construction of a bridge, a tunnel or the development of a ferry crossing between Crimea and the Caucasus. It turned out four options for overcoming the Kerch Strait.

four options for overcoming the Kerch Strait

1. In the execution of the northern option, the bridge should be built from Cape Lantern to Cape Maly Kut. The length of the bridge crossing will be 10.25 km. The length of road access roads - 49 km, railway - 24 km.
2. The Zhukovsky option involves the construction of a bridge from the village of Zhukovka with access to the Chushka Spit. The length of the crossing will be 6.3 km, the length of road access roads - 46 km, railway - 13 km.
3. The Yenikalsky option provides for construction from the cape in the Yenikalino area (Sipyagin St.) to the Chushka Spit. The length of the bridge in this case will be 5.7 km. The length of road access roads - 46 km, railway - 5 km.
4. The Tuzla option is considering the possibility of building a bridge across the island of Tuzla, from the cape Ak-Burun. In this case, the length of the transition is 11.7 km. The length of road access roads - 38 km, railway - 36 km.

Although the Ukrainian government then stated that the final choice of option could only be made based on the results of geotechnical studies and the development of a feasibility study, it seemed that the advantage would be given to the Northern option. This took into account the absence of structures on the territory of future construction, local geological conditions that will reduce the cost of building fortifications, the level coastline etc. At the same time, experts emphasized that the development of the project belongs to one of the highest categories of complexity.
For his part, V.V. Putin insisted on the speedy implementation of the project, offering to build a bridge in time for the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. However further developments made these plans unrealizable, the Sochi 0lympiad-2014 did without a bridge.
Current change political situation, after the entry of Crimea into Russia, the problem of the Kerch bridge or the tunnel through the Kerch Strait became the most acute and raised the third wave of interest in the Kerch transport crossing.

There is a chance that the bridge will be like this

Both pictures and videos of the bridge have already been shown, but the bridge itself is not yet there. Design and survey work should be completed by autumn, and a few more words about technical difficulties.

Some experts, in particular, Nikolai Glukhov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor at the National Academy of Environmental Protection and Resort Construction (Simferopol), author of the project for an underground transport crossing through the Kerch Strait and the project for the Eurasian Transcontinental Highway, warned a few years ago: “My twenty-year period of work on topic of the Kerch transport crossing, the study of all the circumstances of this grandiose project gives reason to believe that in the current conditions its implementation is impossible or may be very difficult. I can name five reasons why the project of the bridge across the Kerch Strait will not be implemented yet.”
And then the professor listed them.

1. Firstly, the project, by its nature, is not of regional, but of global significance, it should be considered in the context of building a new Great Silk Road across the entire Eurasian continent, from Great Britain to China, should connect at least 20 countries. Only under such conditions does it become profitable. However, the transition is still considered as a project of only regional significance. Yes, it shortens the route, if measured around the Sea of ​​Azov, by 450 km, but so far there are no such cargo and passenger flows that could pay for it.
2. Secondly, the design of the bridge does not take into account the technical aspects of construction - more than 50 m of silt at the bottom of the strait, mud volcanoes. And the Kerch tectonic fault complicates the construction so much that it becomes unjustified. There is not a single transport facility in the world built in such conditions. At the same time, the geological exploration of the construction site has not yet been carried out and it is simply not known what the builders will face. There is also no specific project developed according to all conditions. Today, this idea is actually still a beautiful myth that has not been materialized into a project and has no specific reference to the area according to all construction standards.
3. Thirdly, there is still no point in even talking about the cost of construction, and not only because the complexity of the project is unknown, but also because there is no appropriate transport infrastructure, which would ensure the functioning of the transition - access roads, passenger stations, cargo areas, cargo handling mechanisms, relevant services, etc. The arrangement of all this economy will cost even more than the bridge itself.
4. Fourthly, the authors of the project do not pay attention to the fact that we have only negative assessments of the environmental impact of the implementation of this project in such a complex region as the confluence of the Black and Azov Seas, and the consequences for nature can cost humanity prohibitively dearly, so there is no need to rush here at all do not do it. Fifthly, the risks from the construction of such an object have not yet been studied. In conditions of increased seismic danger, as well as in conditions of political instability in the region, the crossing can become the object of a terrorist attack or the site of a grandiose natural disaster, which will lead to large-scale economic losses and death. a large number of people.

Experts say that the area around the Kerch Strait is not very reliable in terms of seismicity.

Perhaps the most reasonable argument in the arsenal of opponents of a stationary path through the strait is seismic activity Kerch Peninsula. But let's also not forget that in many equally seismically complex regions of the world, such bridges or tunnels have been built and are successfully functioning.
Let's try to answer the question whether the current, to put it mildly, sluggish ferry service the needs of the inhabitants of the peninsula and big land. Nowadays, cars in the summer-autumn period line up in huge queues on the shores of the strait and sometimes have to stand idle waiting for days. A reliable crossing will make it possible not only to "embroider" these queues. After all, the estimated estimated capacity of the bridge "Crimea-Caucasus" will be about 10 million people a year.

By comparison, the current ferry service carries only half a million passengers a year. Further, a bridge across the strait will certainly bring great benefits to Crimea.

1. First, the peninsula will create a significant number of jobs needed for the construction of the facility itself and the infrastructure suitable for it.
2. Secondly, the ready-made transport crossing and related infrastructure will also need to be serviced, which, again, will require workers.
3. Thirdly, the passage through the Kerch Strait will allow the Crimeans spiritually and politically to feel themselves as part of a single whole with Russia.
4. It should not be forgotten that the political processes taking place in the region make it possible to predict an increase in the interest of non-Black Sea powers in the Sea of ​​Azov, as is already observed in the Black Sea. In this situation, the Kerch Strait, which is the key to the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, acquires central importance ...

As for the technical difficulties, they are, of course, great. However, remember that in modern world there are already facilities similar in scale and specifics to the planned Kerch crossing and successfully operated. These are the King Fahd Bridge in Saudi Arabia, and the Chinese ones across the Jiaozhou and Hangzhou Bays, and underwater tunnels between Japanese islands. Many of them are longer than the width of the Kerch Strait. Although most often the transport passage through the strait is presented in the form of a bridge, there is a worthy alternative to it - a tunnel similar to that laid under the English Channel.

Experts are also considering the option of building a tunnel

By the way, that tunnel is designated as the first link in the chain of the emerging route of the new Great Silk Road. The Kerch tunnel will serve as its continuation. Let's also not forget that severe northeasts are not uncommon for the Kerch region in winter. Riding in such weather on the bridge is a very small pleasure. So the underwater tunnel project has an advantage from this point of view as well.
However, the final choice of the option is up to the experts. We will say that not only Russian, but also foreign investors are showing interest in the project under the new conditions. At one time, negotiations were held on this score with India and Singapore. The Europe-Caucasus-Asia transcontinental corridor may also be of interest to China. A former mayor Moscow Yuri Luzhkov recently found it possible to recall that he proposed to create a direct connection with the Crimea 12 years ago, he is well acquainted with this topic and has all the developments. It seems to him the best option tunnel lining. And even considering the option of partial investment and own funds in this project.

New version of the Kerch bridge across the Kerch Strait

Mikhail Burmistrov, head of INFOline-Analytika, believes that the implementation of such a project could be compared with the objects of the Olympics, which our specialists successfully completed.
“It will be a matter of several billion dollars,” he believes. - However, the tunnel option is more risky. There may be some, hypothetically, savings from this, but if we have mastered the implementation of bridge projects in Russia quite well, then we hardly have proven technologies for implementing a project in the tunnel format. And attracting international contractors will be hampered by the fact that the world community does not yet recognize the accession of Crimea to Russian Federation", - explained Burmistrov.

Another version of the bridge project across the Kerch Strait

Even with the involvement of foreign specialists, it is not advisable to build a tunnel in the Kerch Strait. The head of the department of bridges and transport tunnels MADI Sergey Zege. "If you count on automobile transport, then, of course, it is necessary to build a bridge, because a long tunnel will require complex ventilation arrangements, - he believes. - The bridge structure suggests itself there, it should be long-span. Taking into account the experience of building on Russky Island, this facility will be significantly cheaper than the tunnel, it will be easier to operate "...

The project for the construction of the Kerch bridge across the Kerch Strait seems to have gone according to this scheme

One way or another, but the case seems to have moved off the ground. “This year we will carry out design and survey work in the Kerch Strait, where geological and hydrological conditions are not the easiest; By the end of the year, we will develop several options and choose the best one for further design,” said Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov. Then, according to him, a certain period will be required for the implementation of design decisions, after which it will be possible to start construction. “In any case, we will carry out all these processes as quickly and in parallel as possible in order to start building the bridge as soon as possible,” the head of the department promised.

Scheme of building a bridge across the Kerch Strait

Most recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to complete the construction Kerch bridge across the Kerch Strait until the end of 2018, all the same, the option of the bridge was chosen .... And literally a few minutes later, Minister for Crimean Affairs Oleg Savelyev and before. Council of Ministers of Crimea Georgy Muradov declare that the construction Kerch bridge will cost several times more than the cost of the tunnel, if this is not a turn to a change of landmarks. It’s not clear ..... but the Minister of Transport of Russia says that the construction of the bridge has been going on since August, at least the access roads and the construction will be completed on December 6, 2018.

Model of one of the variants of the Kerch crossing

Thus, in 2-3 years we will find out whether this story ended with a “happy ending” and what difficulties our politicians and builders still faced in the course of the implementation of the grandiose project.

The construction of the Kerch bridge to the Crimea is one of the most grandiose "constructions of the century" in Russia, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the construction of the Crimean bridge, which will connect the Crimea with mainland Russia. In this publication, we told our readers about how the construction was carried out, answered topical issues around which there were endless disputes and Internet battles did not subside for a long time, especially from Ukrainian neighbors.

It should be noted right away that the new bridge to the Crimea is a record construction both for the Crimean peninsula and for the whole of Russia - its length is 19 kilometers, and this is the most big bridge on the territory of the Russian Federation, so this project can be called the "construction of the century" without exaggeration.

What is the Kerch bridge to the Crimea?

The Crimean peninsula will be able to get not one bridge, but actually two at once - a railway and a road. That is, these will be two parallel bridges that have the same archways for shipping traffic, but otherwise they are absolutely independent of each other. The priority, of course, is the road bridge, and according to the plan, its commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2018. And in 2019, the builders promise to commission a railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, which will connect the Kuban and Crimea.

At the first stage of construction, the builders installed piles that go into the ground to a depth of 90 meters at different angles. The indicated depth is due to the so-called "weak soils" that make it difficult to classical methods of building bridge piers.

After the installation of deep-sea piles, at the second stage of the construction of the bridge, the installation of span structures began, the most important elements of which are the supports of the navigable span. At two bridges, these supports are connected and fenced with a kind of "islands" of reinforced concrete, designed to protect against collisions with ships - both accidental and intentional.

A segment of the federal highway Tavrida will pass through the island of Tuzla, in fact, along an additional full-fledged bridge, but not over water, but over a spit. The question arises: "Why is it impossible to lay an ordinary road, and not build a bridge over the spit and islands, driving in piles?" It must be understood that the Tuzla Spit is a rather unreliable place for laying a route, which is why it was decided to build a bridge along it, so even if the spit is washed away by the sea after several decades, the bridge will not go anywhere and road and rail links across the Kerch Strait will not be interrupted.

Why such deep piles for the Crimean bridge?

It is impossible to build a Crimean bridge without special piles, all because the bottom of the Kerch Strait is a weak ground. But what does the term "weak ground" mean? In fact, the bottom of the strait is a mixture of mud, silt and liquid clay. In other words, this is a kind of "porridge", and not solid rock, so it will not be possible to install ordinary piles into it. For reliable installation of the bridge supports, special deep piles are needed so that they can reach the solid dense soil under the silt of the Kerch Strait and so firmly fix themselves.

When building a bridge to the Crimea, piles are perhaps the most important part! At this construction site, they are used in several types and sizes. For railway bridge more than 3,000 piles will be installed in the Crimea, and more than 2,500 for 288 pillars will be installed for the automobile bridge.

Before starting pile work in the fairway section, the employees of the research institute checked the bearing capacity of the soil and pipe piles in the Kerch Strait. A stand was specially deployed in the water area, on which the pile to be tested was loaded with 6 hydraulic jacks. The latter provided a pressure of 2500 tons, as a result of which the degree of pile settlement and soil resistance were determined.

Director of the Research Institute of Diagnostics LLC Svetlana Bokhanova said: “Static tests made it possible to obtain the actual bearing capacity of the piles on the ground. This confirms the correctness of the choice of the design of the pile foundation of the fairway supports.. For the foundation of railway and road bridge supports, three types of piles are used.

These piles will be hammered in in different ways, for example, in sections of the bridge lying over land, bored piles are installed. Initially, a hole is drilled in the ground, after which “weak soil” is removed from it. After the hole is drilled, a metal frame in the form of a giant pipe and fittings is lowered into it and filled with concrete. To make one support, from 8 to 120 piles are needed - in each case, their number depends on the geology.

Today, builders have to deal with a significant problem - weather conditions. According to statistics, stormy weather is observed about 10 times a month, and during this period it is not possible to carry out work from the water. To solve the problem, two working bridges were built across the strait (from the side of Kerch and Taman), along which special construction equipment moves and piles are driven. Installation of piles for bridge supports is carried out at several sites simultaneously, 21 contractors are working.

On the water section of the bridge construction, tubular piles are used, which are driven in at different angles, these angles of inclination are the same for the piles, but they are driven in in different directions, creating, as it were, a support beam.

The height of the piles is impressive - some more than 100 meters, and against their background a person looks tiny. To prevent corrosion processes, piles are painted at the points of contact with sea ​​water, which is a rather aggressive environment for the metal. Each pile is assembled from several parts: after driving a part of the pile, the next piece is welded onto it, and so on. A pile up to 100 meters long is driven in in about a day and a half. When all the piles for one support are driven, a grillage is laid on them - this is the platform on which the bridge span will subsequently lie. A grillage is made from metal structures, and the assembly process is carried out on the ground, right above the driven piles.

It takes about 28 days for the concrete to harden and gain the necessary strength - this is how long the grillage will “rest”. Bridge spans are being assembled on ready-made grillages. By the way, the railway bridge across the strait is assembled from metal blocks twisted together. The spans are assembled on jacks, and after they are ready, they are lowered onto grillages.

Such technologies and the depth of pile driving are used to ensure that the bridge across the Kerch Strait is able to withstand a powerful earthquake.

What earthquake will the bridge to Crimea withstand?

In the Kerch Strait, an earthquake with an amplitude of up to 8.6 on the Richter scale can occur extremely rarely - about once every 500 years. A magnitude 9 earthquake can occur once every 1000 years. And only once in 2000 years can an earthquake with an amplitude of up to 9.3 points occur. But the bridge in the Kerch Strait is not the first and far from the last construction site in the world, which is being carried out in conditions of increased seismic hazard.

But what happens if an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale occurs in Crimea? When powerful tremors begin, their main wave will be “taken over” by the bridge supports, and the vibrations going from the supports to the spans will be damped by means of anti-seismic devices, which are a kind of “layer” between the bridge span and the support. Of course, during such shocks, the roadway will crack and it is possible that the rails will undergo deformation. But in any case, the main structure of the bridge will stand. The project provides that the bridge must withstand even a strong earthquake of 9 points. Of course, after such an impact, repair and restoration work will be necessary, but the bridge structure itself will be preserved and will not collapse.

The navigable span of the bridge across the Kerch Strait is the most critical and complex section of the bridge, and each fairway support will be installed on 110 piles, the diameter of which is about one and a half meters. Navigable spans stand both from temporary construction platforms and from barges. High temporary platforms are being erected near the site of the future fairway supports. In the future, impressive cranes will be installed on them, the function of which is to lift and drive piles.

How do the builders of the Kerch bridge live?

The life of the workers is no less interesting than the very construction of the Kerch bridge across the strait. Workers work on a rotational basis: they work for 15 days, and then rest for the same amount. The average salary is about 35,000 rubles (it all depends on the position), but workers are provided with housing and meals free of charge. In addition, once a month, workers are paid travel to and from their homes.

In the canteen of the construction camp of bridge builders, located 20 minutes from the bridge, workers have breakfast and dinner, but they have to have lunch at the workplace - food is brought directly to the bridge. Hot dishes and soups are packed in thermal bags.

In total, about 2,000 people are involved in the construction of the Kerch bridge. Workers and builders live in block houses of a specially built town. 4 people live in each room. In the dining room for bridge builders, the menu is quite diverse, that is, you can choose various dishes, meals, as we have already said, are free.

Criticism regarding bridge reliability on soft ground

Due to the significant thickness of silty soils, which do not differ in hardness, the piles of the future bridge are “driven” to an impressive depth, which ranges from 18 meters to 70 meters, depending on the geology. In total, the bridge has 595 supports, under each of which geological wells were drilled to study the hardness of the rock. There is one more feature of the construction - the piles are not immersed vertically, but with a certain slope, this is done in order to give the supports additional stability.

Is the ice of the Sea of ​​Azov threatening the Kerch bridge?

During the great patriotic war for the railway communication of the peninsula with Taman. But 4 months after the launch of the message on the bridge, its structure was destroyed by the ice of the Sea of ​​Azov. Would it not happen that the new bridge would suffer a similar fate?

Have you ever wondered how bridges are built beyond the Arctic Circle? The supports of the future Crimean bridge are designed for ice loads that are possible in the Kerch Strait. In addition, there will be substantial spans between the bridge piers, so no additional ice control assistance is needed. Despite this, in order to control the situation with ice during the operation of the bridge, regular monitoring of the situation will be carried out. And if the need arises, icebreaker-type vessels are located in the port of Novorossiysk, which are ready to reach the Kerch Strait in 8-10 hours to crush ice fields.

How was the route of the bridge across the Kerch Strait selected?

Sometimes there are questions on the network, for what reasons was the current place and route chosen for the construction of a bridge to the Crimea, because there are sections that are smaller in length?

It should be noted right away that the decision was not spontaneous, at the expert council before the start of the design of the Kerch bridge, 74 options for a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait were presented. The Expert Council considered them all and recommended the most optimal one - to build a bridge passing through the Tuzla Spit.

Latest news construction of the Crimean bridge

As of the end of early 2018, the builders of the Crimean bridge raised the railway arch of the bridge on the fairway supports to a design height of 35 meters above sea level. The railway arched span weighs more than 6,000 tons; in order to lift it, the most sophisticated lifting equipment was used under the control of leading Russian engineers. It took about 12 hours to raise the arch and another day to fix it.

Quite positive are last news the construction of the Kerch bridge to the Crimea, as of the beginning of 2018 - the main constructs of the road part of the Crimean bridge are ready for more than 70%:

“If we talk about the road part, then the average performance can be estimated at 70%. For example, on the pile foundations of road supports, the completion is 98%, it remains to load about 50 pipe piles. For supports - a little more than 80%, 45 pieces are yet to be formed - and all of them are high, marine. For span structures, about 60% of the project has been installed, the roadway slab - almost 40%, Novikov said.

- I emphasize that 70% is the readiness of the main constructs. There is still a lot of work to be done before the bridge opens to traffic in December 2018.”

More than 7,000 piles are planned by the project, and today 60% of the planned volume has already been sunk - almost 4,000 piles, which are located at a depth of 12 to 90 meters. By the way, the "Equator" (when 50% of the piles are driven) was a tubular pile from among the most powerful on the construction site. The diameter of the "anniversary pile" was 1420 mm with a wall thickness of 40 mm.

According to Kairat Tursunbekov, deputy head of FKU Uprdor "Taman", such piles are immersed in the fairway section into the foundations of the two largest pillars of the Crimean bridge. Their task is to keep navigable arches above the surface of the water. 95 piles of thick-walled steel pipe serve as the foundation of each fairway support.

On the Taman side of the bridge construction, work on bored piles has come to an end. From the side of Kerch along prismatic piles most of works. According to Kairat Tursunbekov, if you put together all the pipe piles that have been loaded to date, you will get a pipe of more than 150 kilometers. He noted that at the moment the pace of construction, which was planned, has been achieved and is going on as usual. Every day, 3 pipe piles are sunk in the offshore areas, and 10 pipe piles are sunk in the onshore areas of the construction site.

Last year, the builders completed the assembly of the railway arch of the Crimean bridge - arched spans are the most dimensional elements of the Kerch bridge. The length of each arched navigable span is 227 meters. After installation on the fairway supports, the arches provide passage for ships through a space 185 meters wide and 35 meters high from the water.

The publication uses photographs of the official site for the construction of the Crimean bridge, also a well-known blogger

Many Russians point out that Crimean bridge across the Kerch Strait - this is a real construction site of the XXI century. There have never been construction works of similar scale in the history of Russia! Below you can find out all the details and features of the construction, the latest news, photos, and characteristics of the future construction will be presented.

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 an opportunity for continuous communication between the Russian Federation and Taurida - by rail and by road.

Where is the bridge on the map?

It will be located in the Kerch Strait, passing from Taman through the spit and Tuzla Island and going to the southern part of the city of Kerch, to the Nizhnyaya Cement Slobidka microdistrict. Here is its location on the map:

Open map

Main characteristics

As reported, the total length of the structure will be 19 km, while the bridges will be only on the sections "Taman - Tuzla" and "Tuzla - Kerch", their length will be 1.4 and 6.1 km, respectively. How many kilometers will it take to cross the Taman Peninsula and the Tuzla 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 project of the Crimean bridge is not the first one. The idea to build it through arose even when Russian Empire, at the beginning of the 20th century, however, implementation attempts occurred only in 1942-1943, and not by Soviet, but by German developers, during the Second World War. But they failed to implement the developments: 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, the work went very quickly - at the end of the year, movement began here. Nevertheless, using simple techniques, using partially wooden piles and elements of spans, the leaders received a vulnerable building, which quickly fell into disrepair.

Other attempts were made, plans and projects were developed, but they were not implemented - in 1950, at the top of the Soviet Union, they decided to stop construction work and come to grips with the construction, through which both cargo and passenger ships reach the Crimea to this day.

Yes, the Kerch Bridge is a complex project, both technically and ideologically. However, having carried out a competent approach to the matter, analyzing in detail the features of the local landscape, it is possible to bring it to life, which is what Russian specialists are doing now. Very soon, the very long-awaited moment of the opening of a new, truly grandiose transport hub awaits us, multiplying the tourist flow by !

Krymsky bridge (Kerch bridge) - a combined road and rail bridge from Taman Peninsula to the Crimea through the Kerch Strait.

Project and characteristics

According to the project, the beginning of the route runs along an already existing dam 5 km long and along the island of Tuzla. The next section of the bridge after the island crosses the Kerch Strait, while going around the most southern cape Kerch Ak-Burun from the side of the bay and comes ashore in the area of ​​​​Cementnaya Slobidka, not far from the mouth of the Dzhardzhava River. Thus, the construction is carried out away from the port and ferry, does not affect their work.

The bridge includes a four-lane highway capable of providing passage for up to 40,000 vehicles per day at an estimated speed of up to 120 km/h. For cars transport connection with the Crimea across the bridge for free.

In 2019, it is planned to launch the Kerch bridge railway with two tracks, on which up to 47 pairs of trains (design load), both freight and regular passenger, can pass daily. The speed for passenger trains is 120 km/h, for freight trains – 80 km/h. Railway along with the motorway should ensure a stable turnover and passenger transfer.

Navigable arched spans 227 m long and 35 m above the water are provided to preserve navigation in the Kerch Strait.

Construction of the Kerch bridge

The concept of a bridge between Taman and Crimean peninsula completed by January 2015.

Since February 17, 2015, the only contractor for the construction of the facility has been STROYGAZMONTAZH LLC (in March, a subsidiary of SGM-Most was approved), the design part is carried out by CJSC Institute Giprostroymost-St. Petersburg. Before the start of work, about 600 hectares of land and water were cleared, more than 700 explosive objects of the middle of the 20th century, which remained after the battles, were recovered.

Access roads, production sites, mobile concrete units, working bridges and camps are being created in the summer of 2015, in parallel, soil testing and environmental monitoring are being carried out.

By the end of September 2015, the first working bridge to Tuzla had been tested, access to the bridge was provided for vehicles, and a month later, navigation buoys were installed in the Kerch Strait.

In December 2015, the slope from the side of Kerch was strengthened.

The active phase of construction and, at the same time, the equipment of access to the bridge from two sides, has been underway since February 2016. The second and third temporary working bridges are under construction.

The construction of pile foundations for the bridge supports on land began on March 10, 2016. The first support of the bridge on Tuzla (according to the project - support No. 173) was completed on April 12, 2016. By the end of May, more than 1,000 piles had been driven into the base of the bridge.

The stage of installation of spans delivered from Voronezh started on June 9 from Taman; a few days later, construction work began in the water area. Since August 2016, the main navigable supports have been installed, arch spans are being assembled.

By September 1, exactly 100 supports were installed, by September 13, the temporary auxiliary infrastructure for bridge construction was fully created on each side and on Tuzla Island. By September 21, the first sea support was built; by September 24, a section of the future road was created - a plate on Tuzla.

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The railway bridge arch was installed at the end of August, a dry cargo ship and a landing ship passed under it.

The installation of the road arch was completed by October 13. In November, the spit and Tuzla Island are connected by road spans.

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On February 5, 2018, work began on the construction of sea spans for the railway.

March - April 2018, work was carried out on the equipment of the bridge motorway: noise barriers were installed, lighting, asphalting and installation automatic system traffic control, lighting installation.

Signs traffic installed on the Crimean bridge in May 2018.

You can follow the further progress of work on the official website of the Kerch bridge.

Deadlines for the completion of the Kerch bridge

Highway through the Kerch Strait - May 16, 2018 (according to the plan - December 2018).

Railway bridge - 2019.

Overview video: Construction of the Crimean bridge

Opening of the Crimean bridge

The highway of the Crimean bridge was opened for transport ahead of schedule - from May 16, 2018. The day before, the solemn opening of the bridge by Vladimir Putin and bridge builders took place: a trip across the bridge in a KamAZ truck took 16 minutes.

A memo for the first drivers passing through the Crimean bridge appeared on the official website. For a photo report about the first drivers who crossed the bridge, see the Tourist page. RU.

Map of the bridge across the Kerch Strait

Detailed interactive map the project website presents spherical panoramas of the construction site, the nearest important transport hubs are marked, specifications bridge. Visual materials are updated every month, which allows you to follow the construction of the Kerch bridge almost in real time.

Viewpoint of the Crimean bridge

The coordinates of the observation deck on the Crimean Peninsula are 45°19′28″N 36°28′24″E. On foot near the Kerch fortress. By public transport, you can get to the Nizhny Solnechny microdistrict, then you have to walk about 1.5-2 km.

From the mainland, excursions are planned to observation platform at the Monument to Soviet paratroopers (the memorial is known as the “Lender Cannon”), the coordinates are 45°12′2″N 36°36′58″E.

How to get to the Crimean bridge

The Crimean bridge is already fully marked on Yandex maps. Passes through it highway A-290, buses are passing by.

On the Crimean bridge on google-panoramas

Video about the project

Video about the construction of the Kerch bridge, 2018, turning on the backlight