The debate about the need for construction was quite active, and flared up with renewed vigor in 2014 due to the events that became the reason for the return of Crimea to Russia. Not only engineers and builders, but also a huge number of couch analysts joined the debate about the possibility of building a bridge across the Kerch Strait. “They predict trouble for us,” as the famous penny from an old Soviet film used to say. We were assured that it was impossible to build a bridge, it was impossible, no one would succeed ...
But few of the couch experts of a wide profile (who know everything from geology to the strength of materials) know that more than 70 years ago a structure was already built in the Crimea, about which there is not much information, but which played an important role in the history of the peninsula. It turns out that the Kerch bridge was already built once - during the Great Patriotic War, in 1944, and its construction lasted exactly 150 days.
The military necessity of a bridge from the Crimea to the Kuban
It was planned to build the Kerch Bridge back in the 1930s, but the outbreak of the war prevented the implementation of what was originally planned. An interesting fact is that the project was eventually developed by the German invaders for the uninterrupted movement of rail and road transport through the Kerch Strait. Hitler himself ordered the Minister of Armaments to carry out the construction.
The unusually active movement of the Germans on the Kerch Peninsula in 1942 could not go unnoticed by Soviet aviation, but it was strictly forbidden to bomb warehouses and ready-made structures in this area - the Soviet government hoped to complete the construction begun by the Germans, freeing Crimea from the Nazis soon.
Themselves the Germans abandoned capital construction work, and the bridge was not built, creating only a cable car, which was used in 1943 as a crossing. Almost 1,000 tons of cargo could be transported daily with its help.
In April 1944, it became clear that the defeat of the Nazis in the Crimea by the Red Army was inevitable. Retreating, the Germans almost completely destroyed the half-finished bridge structure. But already Soviet engineers and builders managed to restore the structures blown up by the Nazis and complete the bridge across the Kerch Strait in 1944, connecting the Kuban and Crimea.
The bridge across the Kerch Strait, built in almost extreme wartime conditions, was a full-fledged engineering structure. It contained two draw spans, and its length was 4.5 kilometers.
Soviet engineers built a bridge according to a German design in 1944
It was decided to rebuild the bridge across the Kerch Strait even before Kerch itself was liberated from the German invaders. They took as a basis designs, developments, equipment and building materials abandoned by the Germans. Further, Soviet engineers developed a project for a railway bridge, which was supposed to consist of 115 pieces of 27-meter reliable spans.
The navigable fairway was equipped with a two-span turning mechanism, which had a length of 110 meters and had the ability to turn 90 degrees. This was necessary in order to be able to pass ships of very different carrying capacity in both directions at once. At the same time, the construction of the western and eastern railway lines of approaches to the bridge was underway.
Having carefully studied the known facts about ice drifts and the latest geological research, it was decided to build a bridge in the direction of the Chushka spit - the village of Opasnaya. Moreover, the entire front of the main work was divided into two stages: the direct launch of the bridge and its strengthening, including with ice cutters.
Already in November 1944, the first train was launched across the bridge. But the second stage of work was not completed, and the bridge could not sufficiently withstand the extreme winter conditions. The winter of 1944-45 turned out to be disastrous for the structure, besides, by that time, other lines were the main directions for delivering supplies to the front, so much less attention was paid to the Kerch bridge.
As a result, from February 18 to February 20, 1945, most of the supports were destroyed by ice fields, resulting in an accident. By this moment, the role of the project has been played, and the benefits that it has brought throughout its existence are colossal. And although in 1945-46 a plan was developed to build a permanent bridge, the project was considered expensive, and the bridge was not restored.
The publication was prepared based on the materials of the blog http://tov-tob.livejournal.com/127847.html - we express our gratitude for such interesting material and illustrations!!!
Russia built the Crimean bridge! Hooray!
In our time and under the circumstances, it is necessary to understand how necessary the bridge across the Kerch Strait was. The convenience and comfort of movement not only for Crimeans, but also for numerous guests of the peninsula at different times of the year depend on the construction of a bridge from the mainland of Russia to the Crimea. The bridge was awaited by both the Crimeans and the whole of Russia! We can say that the rise of a tourist destination directly depends on the construction of such a structure.
There were many disputes and exhortations that Russia would not be able to build a bridge across the strait and connect Crimea with the mainland. Someone scared with a high price, someone with difficult construction conditions, someone with geology, someone with ice drift ... However, the Russians are different in that they are used to overcoming difficulties and responding to the most global challenges! Looking back, it is clear that exploration, research, negotiations with investors, the search for contractors - all this turned out to be within the power of Russia. Having overcome all problems and sanctions, ahead of schedule by six months, and provided round-the-clock, year-round and all-weather direct road communication between Crimea and the mainland! Next in line is the railway bridge, which is being built in parallel with the road.
The notorious Crimean bridge, which until recently was called the Kerch bridge, is at the final stage of construction. About how much the invaders spent on its construction, with what features it happened and what could destroy the bridge from Taman to Kerch - in article 24 of the Channel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 or 16 (the Kremlin decided to make an intrigue with the date), accompanied by his always faithful "Night Wolves", should pompously open the newly built Crimean bridge. To begin with, only passenger cars and buses will be able to move freely on it - the occupiers are still completing the construction of the railway part, but they are afraid to let trucks in.
Who and when built the bridge from Kerch
In history, there have already been several attempts to connect the Crimea and Kuban with a crossing - for the first time, the bridge was completed in 1944. However, he did not stand for long - he was destroyed by a strong ice drift already at the beginning of 1945.
In modern times, the construction of the bridge was in the plans of Ukraine for a long time. The work was not accepted because of the high cost of the project, but in April 2010 Moscow and Kyiv nevertheless concluded an Agreement on the construction of the Kerch bridge.
Before the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the bridge was needed to improve transport links between the countries of the Black Sea basin, which agreed to build a road around the sea. Each country independently had to reduce its section. In Ukraine, the route was supposed to pass through Kerch, because bypassing the Sea of Azov extended the route by 500 kilometers.
"Construction of the century"
After the occupation of Crimea, Putin announced his intention to urgently build a crossing across the Kerch Strait. Ukraine, on the other hand, withdrew from the contract on the construction of the bridge within the shortest legal time.
In order to be in time with the "construction of the century" before the 2018 presidential elections, State Duma deputies adopted a document that allowed the construction of the Kerch bridge without observing any laws at all. In Moscow, the developer was allowed to disregard the norms of environmental and urban planning legislation, destroy monuments of history and archeology, and freely seize land from the population.
The cost of the Crimean bridge is now 228 billion rubles
The right to build the bridge went to billionaire Arkady Rotenberg close to Putin. The oligarch is known for being the childhood sparring partner of the head of the Kremlin in judo.
However, Putin's friend had a hard time with the construction of the facility - the contractors were afraid to get stuck in the work because of the sanctions that awaited them. It took longer to find a contractor for the construction of the railway part of the bridge - no one wanted to take on this work at all.
Characteristics of the Crimean bridge
The length of the new structure is 19 kilometers, 11.5 of them are on land and another 7.5 kilometers are over the sea. The bridge connects the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas through the island of Tuzla and the Tuzla Spit.
The bridge across the Kerch Strait consists of parallel road and rail sections. The highway has 4 lanes, the maximum speed on it will be 120 km/h.
The railroad has two tracks. The estimated speed of passenger trains on the bridge is 120 km/h, freight trains are 80 km/h.
Characteristics of the Crimean bridge
Now the construction of the railway part of the Crimean bridge continues. It should be completed by December 2019.
What's wrong with the Crimean bridge?
The main claims to the Crimean bridge - besides the fact that it was built illegally, violating all conceivable international norms - is its location. The Ukrainians planned to build in the northern part of the Kerch Strait, because the further south, the worse the conditions.
Thus, Georgy Rosnovsky, the author of two Ukrainian projects for the Kerch bridge, is convinced that the Russians have chosen the most unsuitable of all possible options for a transport crossing across the strait - it is the most expensive and most difficult of all that have ever been proposed.
In total, during the time of independent Ukraine, the possibility of building a crossing in four places was considered. Three of them connected Crimea with the Chushka Spit on the Russian coast: the Northern one ran at the easternmost point of the Crimea - Cape Lantern, Zhukovsky - in the area of the ferry crossing, Yenikalsky - in the vicinity of the Yeni-Kale fortress, and the most southern of the options was Tuzlinsky.
What can destroy the Crimean bridge?
Experts say that the durability of the Crimean bridge is a big question. They explain that everything will depend on natural disasters and the load on the bridge.
First of all, in the area of the bridge, reliable primary soils are located at a depth of 90 meters in some places. The Kerch Strait itself is located in the region of a tectonic fault and there is a network of deep mud volcanoes not far from the island of Tuzla. When they "breathe" - there are vibrations of the soil.
Through this feature, the Russians must drive the piles to a depth of 100 meters and also at the right angle, taking into account possible earthquakes. However, according to experts' forecasts, Russia lacks such technologies and similar construction experience. And although Moscow has announced about the pillars hammered to a depth of 90 meters, not everyone is in a hurry to believe it.
Another danger is the passage of the bridge over the Tuzla Spit, which is constantly being washed away.
Bridge construction site from space: photo by NASA astronaut Tim Kopra
In addition, as Russian hydrobuilder Yuri Sevenard explained, the construction did not take into account extreme weather conditions - strong winds, storms, strong currents and ice rising.
Another danger is the large number of shells left in the region since the Second World War. In Russia, they swore that before the start of construction, they surveyed the territory and found 700 shells.
Cracks and other fails
In April 2018, photos appeared on the network showing that the 256th pillar, which is located almost in the center of the Kerch Strait, cracked in two places.
Cracks on the 256th support (video):
And this is not the first failure in the area. In February 2018, subsidence of supports by one meter was recorded. However, this subsidence was far from the first - a similar situation happened in September 2017, when construction had to be suspended. This happened after the installation of one of the spans of the bridge - one support sank by a meter, the other by one and a half.
This confirms the concerns of experts on the reliability of the bridge. According to forecasts, the supports may not withstand the load of even an empty railway line. And the main problems will begin with the launch of freight trains.
What is Ukraine losing?
During the development of bridge projects by Ukraine, it was noted that the height of the navigable arch should be at least 50 meters from the average long-term sea level. However, Russia in the main navigable part of the Kerch Canal brought together only a 35-meter arch.
Because of such a vile step, Ukraine is losing millions of hryvnias and jobs. In particular, this destabilizes the situation in Mariupol and Berdyansk.
Now, as the director of the Mariupol Commercial Sea Port Alexander Oleinik calculated, only with whom the port used to work.
The Center for the Study of the Army, Conversion and Disarmament stated that the construction of the invaders would lead to 25-30% losses of Ukrainian ports.
How does Ukraine react?
In accordance with a separate agreement between Ukraine and Russia, any construction in the Kerch Strait can only be carried out with the permission of both parties. Therefore, all work in the Kerch Strait is completely illegal.
Back in 2017, the Ministry of Justice began to prepare a lawsuit and calculate the losses of lost funds by the Mariupol and Berdyansk trading ports. The lawsuit will also take into account the fact that during construction, Russia closed the Kerch Strait for ships in order to build the arch of the bridge.
Ukraine also monitors contractors that are working on the construction of the bridge. They are included in the sanctions lists.
They will never build it, since this place is located at the junction of two tectonic plates, Roman Bessmertny, the representative of Ukraine in the tripartite contact group in Minsk, said on March 19 on the air of the Shuster LIVE program. The agency reported topnews.ru. Experts and journalists hold different points of view. /website/
“There will be no bridge there. Will not! The Russians will drive these piles for more than a decade. Today, everyone knows that it is impossible to build a bridge at the junction of these two plates (tectonic - editor's note), because they are moving all the time. And we live this fairy tale. The answer is simple, it lies on the surface. Why wasn't the bridge built? Because it can't be built there!" - Ukrainian TV channel "112" quotes the words of Bessmertny.
According to the diplomat, only one person developed a plan with "real credible mechanisms for building a bridge there." He is the Minister of Construction of Nazi Germany Albert Speer. “If you want, take these documents from the archives,” he said.
The bridge will be completed in 2018
According to the plan, the construction of a bridge with a length of 19 kilometers across the Kerch Strait will be completed in 2018. The cost of the project is 228 billion rubles.
The bridge will connect the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland. It is assumed that the bridge will be crossed by railway and motor roads with a daily capacity of up to 47 pairs of trains and 40,000 cars. An arched span up to 227 meters long and 35 meters wide is planned for the passage of ships. The road should open on December 18, 2018, the railway - in 2019.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait a symbol of the unity of Russia and Crimea, as well as a "historic mission" that was sought but failed to be realized over the past century. “Our predecessors understood the significance of this bridge crossing between the Crimea and the Caucasus and have been striving for the implementation of this project for a long time,” he said. The culprits of the delay in the construction of the bridge, Putin threatened to "hang after summing up the results of the construction." The general contractor for the construction of the bridge is the Stroygazmontazh company of Arkady Rotenberg.
Livejournal journalist denied Bessmertny's opinion
Journalist Yurasumy publishing house Livejournal considers it possible to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait. He noted that in San Francisco, located a few dozen kilometers from the San Andreas fault in California, bridges are being built and solve problems for the region. For example, the Bay Bridge is 3,000 meters long and similar in purpose to the Kerch Bridge. New technologies are used in the construction of such bridges, the journalist noted.
At the same time, construction is not carried out on the San Andreas fault itself, since the speed of plate movement is up to 4 cm per year. Therefore, all routes passing through it are subject to constant repair.
The journalist published a tectonic map of the Crimea, compiled in 1985 by the Yuzhmorneftegeofizika trust. According to it, the docking of tectonic plates in the Crimea takes place far from the Kerch Strait at a distance of 200 kilometers, and the boundaries of the fault are several tens of kilometers from the strait.
According to the journalist, in tectonic terms, the bridge may be threatened by an earthquake similar to the Crimean one in 1927. On the southern coast of Crimea, its strength was 6 points. The earthquake in Kerch did not bring destruction or casualties. Nevertheless, it caused collapses in the vicinity of Sevastopol, in the houses of which cracks appeared.
Opinion of Ukrainian experts
Building a bridge across the Kerch Strait is a difficult task, according to specialists from the Ukrainian Institute of Electric Welding. Paton. According to them, the seabed of the strait is a chain of mud volcanoes covered with a layer of silt up to 50 meters thick. Under the influence of currents, silt washes islands or creates gullies, which is dangerous for the foundation of the bridge, experts say.
This is not the first attempt to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait
Nicholas II, Stalin, Hitler, Yanukovych tried to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait. The First World War prevented Nicholas II from realizing his plan. Stalin's attempts to build a bridge ended in failure due to the outbreak of World War II. Hitler planned to use the bridge to transport troops and equipment to India. Albert Speer developed a plan for its construction, and in 1943 its construction began.
However, in 1944, the Crimea was liberated from the Germans and, at the direction of Stalin, they continued the construction of the bridge, which was built in 6.5 months. At the same time, the bridge did not have ice cutters, and in February 1945, the ice driven into the strait destroyed all 42 supports. They did not restore the bridge, but instead built a ferry crossing.
Ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych advocated the construction of the bridge back in 2007, while he was prime minister. In the future, he planned to create a joint project with Russia for its construction. But for obvious reasons, the plan did not materialize.
With the commissioning of the Crimean bridge and the onset of summer weather, not only motorists, but also cyclists thought about traveling to the Crimea. The latter had questions: is it possible to cross the 19-kilometer structure on a bicycle? Motorists, on the other hand, are discussing how you can admire the views from the bridge and not run into a fine. Who can ride on the bridge and at what speed, "Gazeta.Ru" was told in the press service of the Crimean bridge, as well as the builders who participated in the creation of the structure.
Cars: up to 90 km/h
The rules for driving on the Crimean Bridge are simple and generally do not differ from those that must be observed when traveling on any other bridge in Russia. The passage through the 19-kilometer building is free. On the bridge, traffic is allowed at a speed of up to 90 km / h, while overtaking is prohibited on the bridge (paragraph 11.4 of the SDA “Overtaking, advancing, oncoming passing”). In addition, stops cannot be made at a transport crossing - such a violation, according to Art. 12.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred rubles. By the way, it is this violation that has become the most frequent of those that drivers have made since the launch of the bridge on May 15: according to the employees of the information center, despite the ban, many drivers stop to take selfies in the arched span or at the entrance to the Taman Peninsula.
Photo report: Crimean bridge is open for traffic
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It is worth remembering that vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons are currently allowed here. This restriction does not affect regular buses engaged in passenger transportation, and is valid on the new section of the A-290 Novorossiysk-Kerch federal road from May to October of this year. Truck drivers can use the Kerch ferry until October.
Video cameras monitor compliance with traffic rules on the bridge. So, as Gazeta.Ru was previously told in the FKU Uprdor TAMAN, traffic along the highway on the Crimean bridge is controlled using an automated traffic control system - ASUDD. The system is an integration of several subsystems that provide automatic monitoring of road conditions, weather conditions, traffic flows, recognition of emergencies and other incidents.
There are 19 surveillance cameras and ten cameras of the accident prevention system installed on the highway. Video information is displayed on monitors in .
At the same time, to inform drivers, modern road signs have been installed on the bridge, which are clearly visible in the dark and daylight hours. Throughout the bridge there are more than 60 standard signs indicating the mileage and direction of travel.
By bike you can, on foot - no
Pedestrians are not allowed to walk on the bridge, the information center of the Crimean Bridge warned. There are no places for stops and photographs on the bridge.
We will also answer the main question of all bicycle owners: as the press service of the Crimean Bridge told Gazeta.Ru, the passage of cyclists on the Crimean Bridge is allowed in accordance with the traffic rules. This means that cyclists, like other drivers, are not allowed to stop. However, in the VKontakte group, dedicated to the Crimean bridge, many drivers have already expressed dissatisfaction about this. So, the motorist believes that it is dangerous to be on the bridge on a bicycle.
“Now there are few cars and they drive slowly. Everyone stares. And then a stream will rush under the “cell” - there is nothing for bicycles to do there. Dangerous for everyone, ”she wrote on the social network.
The cyclist, on the contrary, believes that traveling around the Crimea by bicycle is a good option, and he is not afraid of traveling across the bridge.
“Comrades, talk about the dangers of exhaust and a distance of 20 km with halts is a kindergarten,” Smirnov wrote.
- 100 km from Kerch to Anapa, even on a loaded tourist bike, are passed in six hours. On a light road bike and favorable weather, you can get out of three hours.
Non-stop in both cases - chocolate, nuts and water in bike flasks. Stopping is prohibited only on the bridge. Violated, sinful - but only for the sake of the photo. Personal indicator - 330 kilometers a day and 600 with "penny" over the weekend. Welcome to the 21st century, citizen motorists."
In turn, the builder Igor Ivanishin, who took part in the construction of the Crimean bridge, also confirmed that bicycles are allowed to cross the bridge. “I explained that there are no travel bans, but at the same time, a cyclist, like any other vehicle, does not have the right to stop on the bridge, that is, he will have to pedal 19 km without rest,” Ivanishin said. - They write a lot about the width of the curb on the Crimean bridge, and so the curb on the Crimean bridge is 1.25 m, which does not allow you to freely, without interfering with anyone to park a car. But at the same time, it is quite wide for the passage of cyclists.
Ivanishin also shared information about the work of traffic police posts on the bridge. According to him, inspectors most often check buses and minibuses of the Gazelle type.
“There is no question of tolerance for weight,” the builder writes. - That is, large buses, for example, Neoplans, are already driving across the bridge with might and main. There are only two inspection points, at the entrance from Taman and at the entrance from Kerch. That is, there are no posts on the road. The staff are friendly and sociable."
Recall that the opening ceremony of the Crimean bridge was held on May 15. Traffic on the bridge was symbolically opened by a convoy of trucks and construction equipment headed by President Vladimir Putin, who got behind the wheel: he drove over the bridge in 16 minutes 45 seconds. The bridge across the Kerch Strait has become the longest in Europe, its length is 19 kilometers. The bridge starts on the Taman Peninsula, passes along a five-kilometer dam and Tuzla Island, crosses the Kerch Strait and comes to the coast of Crimea. The planned capacity is 40 thousand cars and 47 pairs of trains per day, 14 million passengers and 13 million tons of cargo per year. In parallel, the automobile and railway parts were built. At the same time, the automobile part of the bridge was handed over six months ahead of schedule.
So far, you can get to Crimea by ferry crossing, where, due to the large flow of tourists, a very difficult situation has developed. During the holiday season, about 2 thousand cars accumulate at the crossing, which have to wait for their turn for days.
In order to choose the most optimal option for laying the bridge, 74 options were analyzed. The potential intensity of road and rail transport, construction costs, and the feasibility of building tunnel crossings were taken into account.
The most probable experts immediately called the "Tuzla alignment", since it was this route of the Kerch bridge that was initially shorter than the 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 Tuzla Spit, 750 meters wide. It is proposed to lay a road and a 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 decrease 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. The total length of the bridge will be about 19 km.
On the Crimean coast, a motorway will be laid to the M-17 highway, 8 km long, and a railway, 17.8 km long, to the station. Bagerovo, through which the railway of republican significance passes. In the Krasnodar Territory, a 41 km highway to the M-25 road and a 42 km railway to the Vyshesteblievskaya intermediate station on the Kavkaz-Crimea railway are being designed.
Few people know, but the railway bridge across the Kerch Strait was already built once. More than fifty years ago, when the Germans still hoped to gain complete power over all of Eurasia, Hitler hatched a blue dream - to connect Germany with the countries of the Persian Gulf through the Kerch Strait by rail. During the occupation of the peninsula by fascist troops, steel structures were brought to Crimea to build a 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 three months the bridge 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 the sea strait in wartime is a historical event and a technical achievement.
The new Kerch bridge is supposed to be made two-level, since it should include railway tracks and a highway. At the same time, on some sections of the bridge, trains will move in parallel with cars, and on others they will pass above or below them.