The programme to complete the construction of atypical bridges across large rivers
In 2005, by order of a directive of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation prepared a programme for finishing the construction of so-called "atypical" bridges across large rivers. An "atypical bridge" is a bridge that is elaborate and uniquely designed.
As of January 1, 2004, there were 17 such bridges in Russia that had been under construction since Soviet times. All of these bridges are expected to be completed in 2009.
Two bridges were opened in 2005, specifically over the Vetluga River in the Republic of Mari El and over the Kola Bay in the Murmansk Region. Construction of these two bridges took twelve and thirteen years, respectively. The first stretch of a 2,403-metre bridge across the Kama River near the city of Perm was also completed in 2005.
Three more atypical bridges were brought into operation in 2006: one, on which construction began in 1990, across the Tom River in Kemerovo, one across the Volga bypassing Yaroslavl, and one across the Chulym River in the Tomsk Region.
2007 saw the inauguration of a border bridge across the Kigach River. The bridge is part of the Atyrau-Astrakhan highway, a route of international importance. The first stretches of several bridges were also put into operation in 2007, including one across the Oka in Kaluga, one across the Angara in Irkutsk, one across the Vyatka in the Kirov Region, and one across the Selenga as part of the Treskovo - Zarechye highway in the Republic of Buryatia.
Five atypical bridges were commissioned in 2008: the second stages of the bridges across the Kama near Perm and over the Oka in Kaluga; as well as the bridges over the Ural as part of the Orenburg - Orsk highway, over the Ob near Novosibirsk, and over the Yenisei bypassing Krasnoyarsk.
All in all, in the five years since the programme to construct atypical bridge and transportation facilities was launched, a total of 18.2 kilometres of atypical bridges have been put into operation.
Despite the challenging economic situation, in 2009 6.5 billion roubles from the federal budget and 1.2 billion roubles from regional budgets were allocated for the construction of atypical bridges. By the end of 2009, four atypical bridges are expected to be put into operation, including:
- the first stage of the bridge across the Volga in Ulyanovsk, whose traffic load is expected to reach 30,000 cars daily; construction on this 5,830-metre bridge began in 1987;
- the first stage of a 4,126-metre bridge across the Volga in Volgograd;
- the second stage of a 2,770-metre bridge across the Volga near the village of Pristannoye in the Saratov Region;
- the first stage of a 1,394-metre bridge across the Oka and bypassing Murom in the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod Regions.
Ultimately, the bridges over the Eastern Bosphorus Strait and the Golden Horn Bay in Vladivostok will become some of the largest of their kind. This project's funding and construction continue, and it is expected to be finished in time for the APEC summit in 2012. Construction is expected to be completed in 2011 on a 3.1kilometre bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait, connecting the Russky Island with eastern Vladivostok. The 1.39-kilometre bridge across the Golden Horn Bay will help to resolve traffic problems in Vladivostok.
Bridge construction will continue into the future as a part of investment projects stipulated by the Highways sub-programme, which is part of a federal targeted programme The Development of the Transportation System of the Russian Federation (2010-2015). At the same time, the issue of renovating existing bridges and flyovers, most of which were built in the 1960s and 1970s, will soon become especially pertinent. These bridges and flyovers were constructed in accordance with out-of-date standards, and were not intended for modern vehicles. The traffic capacity of some of them has reached its limit. At the same time, the design of many of these bridges and flyovers does not allow them to be upgraded through major repairs. For this reason, a provision for the construction and reconstruction of bridges and flyovers was incorporated into the federal targeted programme The Development of the Transport System of the Russian Federation (2010-2015).
The bridge across the Oka River
Travel by car between the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod Regions in the vicinity of Murom and Navashino currently requires the use of a pontoon bridge.
The limited capacity of the bridge and its seasonal closure limit freight traffic in this area and result in delays due to the fact that vehicles must often wait to cross. In addition, to get to the bridge, drivers must pass through the city of Murom, which causes congestion in the city streets.
The total length of the projected Murom bypass, which would be divided into two sections, amounts to 22.6 kilometres.
The first 13.3-kilometre section, the Kasimov - Murom - Nizhny Novgorod highway, needs renovation. The second section in the northeast is a 9.3-kilometre long bridge over the Oka (2.4 kilometres of which are in the Vladimir Region, and 6.9 kilometres of which are in the Nizhniy Novgorod Region). This bridge is what is called an atypical bridge, a category that refers to elaborate, uniquely designed bridges.
Between 2006 and 2009, almost 4.2 billion roubles were allocated from the federal budget to the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod Regions (2.7 billion roubles and 1.5 billion roubles, respectively) for the construction of a bridge bypassing Murom. The Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod Regions provided 1 billion roubles and 0.5 billion roubles, respectively, from their own budgets.
The bridge will considerably reduce the distance vehicles heading to southern Russia via the М7 Volga highway must travel. It will also ease traffic in the Moscow transportation hub and on the highways leading to the east of Moscow (the М7 Volga) and to the south of Moscow (the М2 Crimea, the М3 Ukraine, the М4 Don and the М6 Caspian Highway).
