The Crimean bridge was built since 2016. Prior to this, for almost 12 months, project activities were carried out. All work was divided into three stages: the organization and immersion of piles and supports, the assembly and installation of spans and the arrangement of the roadway.
In 2014, V.V. Putin first spoke about the need to connect the shores of the Taman and Crimean peninsulas. This would allow people to directly enter any city without crossing the Ukrainian border. The bridge was not only supposed to connect the mainland of Russia and Crimea, but also fit into the transport infrastructure. Bridge construction was started in 2016, the money was allocated from the federal budget of Russia.
Until that moment, a ferry service operated from 1954, which partially provided for the needs of carriers. Its functioning was directly dependent on weather conditions. It was planned that the construction will be completed by the winter of 2018, but the grand opening took place in May 2018.
The length of the structure was 19 km. Bridges on the sections "Taman-Tuzla" and "Tuzla-Kerch" have a length of 1.4 and 6.1 km, respectively.
Three important steps
The construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait was planned for several decades. Only by the end of 2015 was the project documentation finalized. It takes into account complex tectonic faults, bottom silt deposits. To solve the tasks, thousands of engineering inventions were applied, innovative technologies were mastered.
All work can be divided into three main stages:
- Construction and installation work. On dry and land sections, piles were immersed in the ground and bridge pylons were made. It was created more than 2500 first and 288 second.
- Assembly and installation of superstructures. This stage began in March 2017. Almost 40 spans were erected and the first sections of the future carriageway of the bridge were concreted. An important event was the transportation and installation of a multi-ton arch. Raised it to a design height of more than 6 hours.
- Arrangement of the roadway. First, in March 2018, all parts of the bridge were connected, and by April the laying of asphalt along the entire length was completed, markings were applied, and a barrier fence was mounted.
