The Crimean Bridge - New Milestone Reached; Construction Continues at Breathtaking Pace
A major milestone of the Crimean Bridge construction project has been reached as workers began installing railway spans. Together, they'll form a 2-km road above the Kerch Strait. The technology requires surgical precision. The spans are moved at a speed of just 45 mm per minute.
Olga Armyakova with the details.
You certainly won't see that at another construction site. There's a pod of bottlenose dolphins right next to us! They are the frequent guests of the Crimean Bridge and the first witnesses of all the changes. You can say it's the greenest construction site in Russia.
While the dolphins hunt fish, the workers are launching the most difficult stage where these colossal spans slowly slide over the water surface. Its speed is 45 mm per minute. Joining two banks with a single metal thread requires several months.
Dmitry Petukhov, deputy operational director: "On the right side, we have a railroad section leading from Taman to Crimea. On the left side, we have a railroad section leading from Crimea to Taman. Every span section weighs 290 tons. The total weight of a single span is approximately 580 tons".
The bridge gradually grows towards the fairway as it becomes taller. Every pillar is 0.5 meters higher than the previous one. Thanks to this gradual incline, freight and passenger trains will run comfortably and safely.
Yuri Beskov, senior technical officer: "The marine section begins with an 18-meter pillar and reaches 35 meters at the arch span over the fairway of the Kerch Strait".
At the same time, the approaches to the bridge are being built. Railroad tracks are being laid. In December 2019, trains will run across the Kerch Strait.
Olga Armyakova, Konstantin Morozov, and Nikita Kadchenko Vesti, Kerch Strait.