Bridges, especially large ones, are rightfully considered to be extremely complex engineering structures. And a good bridge is almost always beautiful. Vokrugsveta.ru and the experts of the tutu service talk about the outstanding automobile and railway bridges in different regions of Russia, which you definitely need to see with your own eyes.
Saratov Bridge
An arched automobile bridge over the Volgograd reservoir, opened in 1965, connects Saratov with the city of Engels located on the left bank of the river. The building became famous all over the country: it was in Saratov that the feature film “The Bridge is being Built” was shot — Oleg Efremov’s first directorial work. In some scenes, Saratov residents were involved in the crowd.
According to the urban legend, the Saratov Bridge could have been wider, but Nikita Khrushchev himself prevented this. Allegedly, when the Secretary General saw the project, he personally reduced the width of the roadway.
Golden Bridge in Vladivostok
The cable—stayed Golden Bridge is one of the main attractions of Vladivostok. It got its name not because of the cost of construction, but because of the Golden Horn Bay, the shores of which are connected by a bridge opened in 2012.
Plans to build it appeared in the late 1950s. Then the Soviet authorities set out to make Vladivostok a city that could rival San Francisco in beauty. Locals call the Golden Bridge “mama”: its supports look like the letter “V”, and from some angles — and “M”. There is also a “Dad”: Russian Russian Bridge is a bridge connecting the mainland of Vladivostok with Russky Island.
Murom Bridge over the Oka
The highway bridge over the Oka, opened in 2009, connects two cities: Murom in the Vladimir region and Navashino in Nizhny Novgorod. Locals often say that in windy weather the bridge seems to “sing”: melodious sounds arise from the design features of the cable-stayed bridge, which in 2013 was recognized as the most beautiful in Russia.
Today, the bridge is an important landmark of Murom along with ancient monasteries. You can get here from Moscow by train in 4-5 hours.
Millennium Bridge in Kazan
The bridge over the Kazanka River is the highest in the city. The cable-stayed handsome building with a pylon in the shape of the letter “M” was built in just eight months: construction began in early 2004, and in the summer of 2005, the first stage was already completed in order to be in time for the anniversary of the city. Kazan residents are very fond of the Millennium Bridge, although they jokingly call it “Linoleum”.
The Red Dragon Bridge in Khanty-Mansiysk
The Khanty-Mansiysk automobile bridge, resembling a huge dragon, was opened in 2004. As one legend says, once upon a time a dragon fell asleep here, tired after a long journey.
At night, the bridge over the Irtysh is beautifully illuminated. According to the recently approved project, there will be even more lamps here by the end of 2024.
Bugrinsky Bridge in Novosibirsk
The 380-meter arched span of the Bugrinsky Bridge over the Ob, which was opened in 2014, is considered the longest of its kind in the CIS. The bridge connects Kirovsky, Pervomaisky and Oktyabrsky districts of Novosibirsk. Initially, it was planned to make it a cable-stayed one, but later this idea was abandoned: The high-rise structure could interfere with planes landing at Tolmachevo airport.
The third bridge over the Ob River in Novosibirsk did not have a name for a long time — in everyday life it was simply called the third. As a result, he was named after the grove he crosses.
Rostov drawbridge
In the 19th century, on the site of the current drawbridge across the Don, there was another, with a pivoting middle truss. For all its originality, its design made it difficult for ships to pass along the river — as a result, it was decided to build a new bridge, which opened in 1917. Although the lifting mechanism for it was designed in the office of the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, the residents of Rostov-on-Don nicknamed the bridge the American, because such a structure was originally from the USA.
The original bridge of 1917 has not been preserved to this day — it was almost completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. In 1952, an almost exact replica of the former bridge was built in its place, and in the early 2000s a crossbeam was installed between the supports of the lifting mechanism.
Khabarovsk Bridge
Khabarovsk Bridge is called the “Amur Miracle”. There is separate traffic on it: cars travel along the upper tier, trains along the lower one. The laying of the railway bridge took place in 1913, and three years later it was put into operation.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the bridge over the Amur was completely reconstructed. You can see it today on a 5000-ruble bill.
The author of the text:Anastasia Feoktistova