Putin Presides Over Historic Day For Crimea: Ukraine Weeps as Kerch Bridge is Finally Unveiled
It's a historic event for the whole country. Today, Crimea literally reunited with Russia. The construction of the bridge between Kerch and Taman, on which the first cars will cross early morning tomorrow, started about 2 years ago. Now, the road section of the bridge is ready to be used. Vladimir Putin and the builders who implemented this monumental project were the first to cross the bridge on Kamaz trucks.
Pavel Zarubin and Olga Armyakova have the details.
Vladimir Putin: Let's go!
- Let's go. Let's get started.
- There we go.
- The horn, please. Let's go!
Every second of this event will go down in history. The first automobile column is moving across the Crimean Bridge. By tradition, Kamaz trucks are the first to cross. The column is headed by Vladimir Putin. It turns out that he got a license for trucks 20 years ago. The President accompanies the bridge's builders, who finished the job ahead of schedule.
Vladimir Putin: Do you remember how much time it took to design the road and rail sections?
- Planning actually started about a year and a half before construction. There's a photo from May 23rd, 2016, showing the first metal superstructure unit delivered to the construction site.
- Well, the turnaround time is incredible, it took just 2 years and 3 months.
- We assembled the arches within 9 months.
- Everybody here didn't just work here because it was their job, they did it because this was the right thing to do. They spent days and nights here.
- My child was born here.
- Really? Congratulations.
- Thanks.
The sea is on each side, but it has been tamed now. The Crimean Bridge is now open! We are in this Kamaz along with the builders that have been building the Crimean Bridge for the past few years.
- How are you?
- Great!
They're great now, but at the beginning, as the builders told the President, they were quite worried. Everything that could have hampered the construction project is present: seismic activity, a friable silt bottom, and the harshest winters filled with powerful storms and drift ice.
- Although we quite happily reported on the progress, we were still worried because it took 12-15 days to install the first piles. We thought we wouldn't make the deadline.
Vladimir Putin: Yeah, they told me.
- But then, the guys…
- So you were a bit worried.
- Yes, at first.
Now there are four lanes stretching across 19 kilometers of perfectly smooth asphalt on the most powerful piles, which are expected to last for centuries.
Vladimir Putin: How thick is the silt layer?
- From 6 to 20 meters.
Now a journey from one Russian coast (Tamansky) to another (Crimean) will take about 15 minutes. Hundreds of bridge builders are welcoming the Kamaz column on the Kerch side.
- Euphoria.
- Euphoria?
- Yes. Because a big job has been done, and we can see the result.
- Pride and joy. Everyone had one goal and one bridge.
Piles were installed in Tuzla Spit too. This grand arch is high enough for ships of all sizes to pass under it. Now Crimea is permanently linked to Russia with a strong bridge.
Vladimir Putin is congratulating the builders of the Crimean Bridge on its opening.
Vladimir Putin: "In different historical eras, including during the tsars’ reign, people dreamed of building this bridge. They came back to it in the 1930s, then the 1940s and the 1950s. Finally, thanks to your hard work and talents, this project, this miracle is a reality. Thank you very much. This is an incredible result which has made Crimea and the legendary city of Sevastopol stronger, and brought us closer to one another. The bridge will mean faster and greater progress for the economy of Crimea and Sevastopol, and will improve the quality of life here".
During the construction of the bridge, the Kiev authorities and Maidan TV channels were assuring Ukrainian viewers that they were seeing things. Shows presented very creative speculations and theories. Ukrainian talk shows presented our channels' stories about the construction project, calling it Russian propaganda.
President Putin has visited the grand construction site and watched it from the air. 335 piles have already been installed.
"There won't be any bridge there. They'll keep installing piles for decades".
"Of course, the bridge won't be built because it's not just difficult, but extremely difficult".
We can't but agree that it was incredibly difficult. But Russia managed to do it and will continue to do so.
Now the railway section of the bridge is being built here. The timing of its commissioning is the same, but the road section has been commissioned 6 months ahead of schedule. The builders say that they were very inspired to work, understanding that the task was important and that they were making history.
"The reunification of Crimea with Russia really spurred us on. We did it!"
"No words can describe what we're feeling as we're standing on the bridge and seeing all this".
This "smart bridge" features its own control center. Both in summer and winter, thousands of sensors and video cameras will report car accidents, drift ice, and black ice on the road, allowing for a fast response and resolution.
In a few hours, the bridge will be opened for cars and buses. It starts at 5:30 AM.
Vladimir Putin: "We will continue to work on similar projects across the country. And I mean across the entire country. We will build new roads, bridges, airports, and ports. We will make our people's lives better and more comfortable. And we will succeed by all means because we have outstanding and talented people like you. Congratulations to everybody and good luck. Thank you very much. You are the best people and the best builders. Thank you very much".
Over the last two years, the best journalists have been reporting on the best builders. Olga Armyakova followed the construction project from the beginning to the end. And today she has the best exclusive interview with the President.
- You practically sped down this bridge. How's the pavement? Is it smooth and even?
- It's nice and comfortable. And durable, I hope. A really good, state-of-the-art bituminous concrete composite was used. I think people will love it.
Even our film crew, who were on the air at that time, didn't expect such a prompt appearance by Vladimir Putin at the Crimean coast. The road to the peninsula's resorts has never been so fast and convenient. The President openly says that he's happy with the result. But the construction of the century is still going on. The railway sections are yet to be opened.
Vladimir Putin: "This is one of the country's biggest projects. Most gratifyingly, the builders just proudly told me that all the technology used is exclusively Russian-made. About 225 enterprises were involved in the construction from beginning to the end. The freight route is to be launched in fall, which I don't doubt. The rail section will be opened in a year".
The importance and necessity of this great project can hardly be overestimated. After the bridge is opened, the long lines waiting for a ferry will be a thing of the past, and there will be at least 20% more tourists, as Crimean resorts become that much closer.
Vladimir Putin: "The bridge's annual capacity is 14 million people and over 13 million tons of cargo. It's a huge infrastructural construction which is of great importance for the development of not only Crimea and Sevastopol, but all of Southern Russia. So, this structure is crucial and promising, not only for me, but for the whole country. I'm sure that the second and the third sections, I mean the railway, will be commissioned on time and will live up to the level of quality that the builders have demonstrated so far".
The builders drove as fast as the wind over the Kerch Strait together with Putin. It's Dmitry Kondakov sitting next to the President. He was responsible for the assembly of the snow-white fairway arches and took part in an unprecedented maritime operation to install them. And, of course, the main question to him is about the journey with the President.
- You were sitting next to the President. Does he drive well?
Dmitry Kondakov: He drove very confidently, he was really burning up the road, but he drove so confidently that I could go another lap with him.
- What did the President say? What did he ask and what was his reaction to this beauty?
- He actually asked about everything. We even discussed my child that was born here.
Those who made the dream come true met the President at the 19th kilometer. Builders of the Crimean Bridge worked around the clock and then some, regardless of the weather. American sanctions did not hamper them either, which nobody seemed to pay attention to here. The two coasts of a big country were linked in spite of everything and, certainly, for centuries to come.
Arkady Rotenberg, Stroygazmontazh CEO: "It was a challenge, you know. Many were affected by sanctions. I've been sanctioned for a long time, whatever. Many others risked being sanctioned; despite that, they chose the path of honor and conscience. Maybe, that's why we succeeded."
The Kerch Strait road is a first-category highway. Its capacity is almost 40,000 cars a day.
Maxim Sokolov, Minister for Transportation: "The speed limit on the bridge is 90 km/h, but it was designed for 120 km/h. We shouldn't go over the speed limit though".
Tomorrow, the first cars will go across the Crimean Bridge. The highway for trucks will be opened in October to avoid traffic jams at the height of the season.
Long before its opening, the Crimean Bridge became the main symbol of reunification. After all, even its name was chosen by the whole country. Today, the long-awaited bridge has been completed. This day is already historic.
Olga Armyakova, Pavel Zarubin, Konstantin Morozov, Nikita Kalchenko, Alexander Medvedev and Andrey Melnikov for Vesti from the Crimean Bridge.