Traffic on the bridge across the Kerch Strait may be opened in May of this year. Rosavtodor is already planning to conclude a contract for the maintenance of access roads and the bridge itself.
The state contract implies the maintenance of existing roads, moreover, of federal importance, which specifically include the A-290 Novorossiysk - Kerch highway, as well as a transport bridge intended for the movement of motor vehicles and railway transport. The total contract amount is almost half a million rubles. The validity period begins on May 1 of the current year.
The management of Rosavtodor, when asked about the early opening of the Kerch Bridge, said that at the moment the progress of work is according to schedule, but in some areas there is a certain backlog. However, the department’s leadership did not announce specific dates.
The 19 km long bridge will connect Crimea with the Russian mainland.. rub. The contract for the construction of the Crimean Bridge specifies a different completion date - December 2018. According to the official website of the Crimean Bridge, “car traffic will open in December 2018, train traffic in 2019.” The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, previously said on the sidelines of the Sochi RBC forum that the opening date for the bridge “is still December 2018.”
It is worth noting that the deadline, which is presumably indicated in the government contract application, corresponds to the statement of President Vladimir Putin made on Thursday in his message to the Federal Assembly. The President noted in his speech that the bridge for vehicle traffic will be opened “in a few months.”
The deputy plenipotentiary representative in Yuzhny confirmed in his interview that traffic on the bridge could begin as early as May. federal district Vladimir Gurba.
Crimean Bridge will open in a few months, President Putin said in his message to the Federal Assembly, thereby noting that the construction of the bridge is ahead of schedule.
The commissioning of the bridge will affect not only the life of Crimea, but also, in particular, will have a beneficial effect on the economy of Kerch. But it is this city that first welcomes travelers from the mainland of our country. About this in an interview " National service news,” said the head of the Kerch administration Sergei Borozdin. He cited analytical forecasts to support his words.
Borozdin especially noted the fact that Ukrainian Kerch was an ordinary provincial city on the outskirts and was supplied with everything necessary according to the so-called residual principle. “By the way, this feeling of a dead end, as a resident of Kerch, I’ll say frankly, it has, unfortunately, been very deeply rooted in Kerch residents throughout the entire period of Ukrainization,” said the head of the city. “I see big tasks for the Kerch administration to create a new image of the city, to create a comfortable urban environment.”
Almost 3 years have passed since the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait received its first contractor, almost a record time for such activities. In March 2018, the President of Russia said that the opening of the bridge could happen ahead of schedule, which raised many questions - is this so and what will it affect? early delivery object?
In fact…
It should be taken into account that there was talk about building a bridge between Crimea and the Taman Peninsula during the times of peaceful relations between Russia and Ukraine, and the first thoughts about this arose back in 2008. Then the residents of both countries were already waiting for the bridge to Crimea to be opened. Russia subsequently included this project in the list of transport strategies for the period until 2030. Initially, negotiations were conducted at the level of prime ministers, then the presidents of the countries returned to the discussion, and in 2013 documents were signed on the beginning of joint actions to organize this project.
Despite the fact that politics and military actions on the territory of Ukraine prevented joint cooperation between the countries, Russia, after unification with Crimea, decided not to postpone the construction of the bridge indefinitely, so already in 2014, President Vladimir Putin gave the corresponding orders. Thus, when the bridge to Crimea is built, several pressing issues will be resolved at once, for example, the safety of Crimeans, the ease of migration of citizens without the difficulties of crossing the Ukrainian border, etc.
Bridge Feature
Do not forget that the project has not only a short deadline, but also a very a complex system creation. The development features of the flora and fauna of that area were taken into account, advanced technologies were used, consultations were held with hundreds of specialists and about 13 thousand workers were hired. The construction of a bridge of such colossal scale was carried out in our country for the first time, so the whole of Russia is looking forward to the construction of the bridge to Crimea.
Of course, along with speed, quality also became a priority. Since the structure will immediately bear the transport load not only in the form of a highway, but also railway tracks. The length of the bridge to Crimea is 18.1 kilometers for a railway track with two lanes and 16.9 kilometers for a road track with four lanes.
The design was created taking into account all negative situations of a natural and man-made nature, therefore it has an increased degree of stability, protection from storms, strong ice drift, and can also withstand seismic vibrations of up to nine points. The country's largest stormwater treatment system was created. That is, when the bridge to Crimea is built, no waste from it was released into the water and will not be released. The structure itself was subject to modern corrosion treatment.
Well forgotten old
It is difficult to imagine that the Kerch Bridge was planned to be built 10 years ago, combining the efforts of the friendly countries of Ukraine and Russia. However, a plan to connect the Crimean peninsula with the southern part of Russia by transport links was proposed by the British. The enterprising government of England seemed to have a successful construction option railway to India just through the Kerch Strait. Then Nicholas II became interested in this project, and even seriously considered it, but the war prevented further plans.
Actually, all this suggests that the Crimean Bridge is a great idea. Interestingly, the length of the bridge to Crimea is longer than the strait itself. Thanks to this, several trading ports will be connected at once. Perhaps the concept of “every cloud has a silver lining” is applicable here, since it is unknown how the fate of the project would have turned out if the president had not decided to make the construction of the bridge the main direction of transport development for the next few years.
When will the bridge across the strait be built?
At the beginning of 2018, we can confidently say that the bridge is ready. The final stages of designing the route and railway remain. The correct alignment of forces, functionality and tasks allowed the contractors not only to meet the stated deadlines, but also to be ahead of schedule. This was first reported at the end of 2017. In a word, the bridge itself is already ready for future loads and is awaiting final preparations before testing and operation. Most systems have been verified through natural exposure and testing. The progress of construction of the bridge to Crimea began to accelerate before the finish line.
News about early delivery
At the beginning of March 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in a few months part of the road bridge to Crimea would be opened. What specific dates the head of state spoke about was not specified. The fact is that the opening of the road to vehicles is already planned for December 2018, but there is a possibility that this will happen even in the summer. However, as the head of the Ministry of Transport, Maxim Sokolov, told the media, it is too early to make forecasts in favor of fixed dates. Unfavorable periods associated with the vagaries of nature must pass. As a rule, they last until the end of March, after which an analysis will be made of when exactly the bridge to Crimea will open.
Russians' opinion
In the same media and social networks, residents of the country have ambivalent attitudes towards such news. Indeed, Russians feel joy and pride as they witness construction on a historic scale. For many, the Kerch Bridge will be a long-awaited event in the development of the country over many years. However, Russian residents are worried about the quality of construction and do not think that it is worth rushing and putting the facility into operation ahead of schedule. We will wait, don’t rush – this is the general mood of the citizens of our country. Indeed, everyone appreciated the incredible work carried out by both the head of state himself and the construction teams, and when the bridge to Crimea will be opened - in winter or summer - is not so important for the majority.
Major Event
However, there are currently actual and specific dates that the whole country is focusing on. They were announced from the very beginning and practically did not change, which, of course, indicates a good calculation. Thus, the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait will be commissioned by the end of 2019. The official date for the opening of road traffic is December 2018 (according to some sources it was moved to May), and the railway tracks will open a year later - in December 2019.
Expected that local residents they will organize a celebration along the entire length of the bridge to Crimea (as far as possible), and the president will also take part in the opening Russian Federation. Indeed, this will be one of the most important events V modern history Russia is pleased that we have the opportunity to observe such development of the state. There is no point in counting how much money was spent, but imagine how many nights, efforts, and human labor were spent. The knowledge that the whole country is waiting for this bridge motivates 13 thousand workers to continue working hard. Perhaps, when the bridge to Crimea is finally built, political situation will change.
Yesterday, many Russian media, citing a statement by the President of the Russian Federation, announced the early launch of the Crimean Bridge. Is it so? Vladimir PUTIN, during the announcement, mentioned the imminent launch of traffic on the Crimean Bridge: “In a few months, automobile traffic will open on the Crimean Bridge, and next year, railway traffic will open. This will give impetus to the development of Crimea and the entire Russian Black Sea region.” Many Russian media began to talk about an early launch. Headlines with mention were in the country's main news feed. But did the journalists write the truth?
What did Putin say about the launch of the Crimean Bridge?
Vladimir Vladimirovich said that car traffic on the Crimean Bridge will open “in a few months.” But how much is it? People say: “Several is an elastic concept.” This could be 2, 3, or even 9 months. What do official representatives say about this?Official date for the launch of traffic on the Crimean Bridge
From the very beginning of construction, it was stated that vehicular traffic along the crossing would open in December 2018. In fact, from March to December there are also several months. Therefore, the question arises: “Was there a statement about an early launch?”Statement on the early launch of the Crimean Bridge
Rumors about an early launch also did not appear out of thin air. Firstly, even at the level of the State Council it was reported that traffic on the Crimean Bridge would be launched before the summer season of 2018. During the Open Crimea tourism forum, the head of the State Council of the Republic Committee on Sanatorium-Resort Complex and Tourism, Alexei CHERNYAK, told how he sees the upcoming holiday season: “Transport logistics will change completely. First of all, this is the opening of a new airport this spring, the opening of road communication (with the mainland - editor's note).” That is, Crimea is already expecting a stream of tourists who will come to the peninsula via the Crimean Bridge. However, the press service of the Crimean Bridge responds to official inquiries that the launch will take place in December. IN social network there is a Crimean Bridge community where bridge builders and fans of the “construction of the century” communicate and share information. It has been noted here many times that the construction of the bridge is well ahead of schedule. “Several - it could be 3, or maybe 9, so nothing new.” “He didn’t say clearly when, in a few months - the concept is flexible, maybe two, maybe three, or maybe 9, and it will turn out to be December.” I heard from workers that it seems to be May 8th. But this is not certain,” write community subscribers. So when will they open? Read:When will the Crimean Bridge be opened?
It is possible to accept the possibility that they will open for the holiday season. After all, this has already been announced at the ministry level, and the bridge builders themselves note that the work is progressing ahead of schedule. However, there is one nuance that was noticed by all the same public subscribers: “The VAD with the overpass does not keep up with the construction of the bridge. We have to put in a temporary detour instead of the overpass itself.” Even if they manage to complete the construction this spring, which is unlikely, then what to do with it? Everyone remembers the kilometer-long traffic jams near Feodosia. Will they have time to make an interchange at? If car traffic opens up and there are more tourists with their own cars, then how many hours or days will people be stuck in traffic jams? “Several”?Can the Crimean Bridge be opened by May 9?
The whole of Russia is waiting, but the news about the early launch is joyful only for those who do not understand how important it is to synchronize the construction processes of the Crimean Bridge, the auto approaches to it, the overpass in Kerch and the readiness of the Tavrida highway. Therefore, we can conclude that in the president’s statement, many people heard only what they wanted to hear.The road bridge across the Kerch Strait was planned to be completed by the end of 2018, but during the recent visit of Vladimir Putin, the general contractor expressed his readiness to open the facility ahead of schedule. Now the Ministry of Transport has specified when - and how exactly - traffic will be allowed onto the bridge.
According to the official message published on the website of the Ministry of Transport, car traffic on the Crimean Bridge will be opened in stages. At the first stage - immediately after the bridge is commissioned - the passage will be open to passenger vehicles and buses providing passenger transportation. This stage is planned to be completed by the beginning of the holiday season, in May 2018.
At the second stage, traffic will also be opened for freight transport - this will happen at the end of 2018, as was originally planned. An exception is provided for freight and technological transport involved in the construction of the railway part of the Crimean Bridge. Construction vehicles will be able to move across the Crimean Bridge immediately after the opening of its road part.
As the Ministry of Transport explains, the decision is due to “optimization of logistics flows during the peak summer season to reduce the load on the road network of the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas.”
In particular, it is planned that in May a through passage will be provided on the 40-kilometer road approach from the Taman coast (from the existing federal highway A-290 to the Crimean Bridge), without putting into operation transport interchanges with the local road network. At the same time, on the Crimean side, an auto approach from the Crimean Bridge to the interchange with the Tavrida highway will be ready for the opening of traffic in operating mode. Further traffic will go along two lanes of the existing Kerch - Simferopol road.
By the end of 2018, two new Tavrida lanes to Simferopol should be ready, and auto approaches to the Crimean Bridge will be fully introduced, which will allow temporary restrictions on the movement of freight transport along the route across the Kerch Strait to be lifted.
Let us recall that on March 14, Vladimir Putin personally inspected the construction of the Crimean Bridge and expressed hope that the bridge would be put into operation by the summer season. The owner of the Stroygazmontazh company, the general contractor for the construction of the Crimean Bridge, Arkady Rotenberg, told the president that the project would be completed ahead of schedule.
The road part of the bridge to the Crimean peninsula will have 4 lanes, and total length the transition will be 19 km. The estimated time to cross the bridge by car is 10 minutes, and the permitted speed is 120 km/h. The crossing will become the most important infrastructure facility in Russia and will become a more convenient and cheaper alternative to sea ferries - so far the only way to get to Crimea by car. The railway connection along the Crimean Bridge should be opened in 2019.
The construction of the Kerch Bridge is ahead of schedule. Having started in February last year, the workers immediately picked up a good pace. By the fall of 2017, the prospects for early completion of construction became not so illusory. Although the project participants themselves still do not answer the direct question of whether it is possible to complete the construction of the century before December 2018. Kryminform compared forecasts with facts. And there was hope.
Indirect signs
The main work on the construction of the Kerch Bridge began with the driving of piles for the foundation of the supports in early March 2016. The first support was ready in April. By the end of the year, builders had already erected more than 200 supports, almost doubling the original annual plan. In the spring of 2017, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov announced that the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait was ahead of schedule.
“Last year (2016) the project confidently passed the equator point, now construction is proceeding even somewhat ahead of schedule. We confidently declare that next year work traffic on the automobile part of the bridge will be open,” Sokolov said.
At the same time, both the minister and the project participants do not specify whether traffic on the road part of the bridge will be launched earlier than the planned December 2018.
Indirectly, the fact that traffic on the bridge can be opened much earlier than the end of 2018 is evidenced by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation. The text of the document was published on October 6 and was publicly available for several hours on the official Internet portal of legal information, after which it was deleted. However, a copy of it remained in the editorial office of Kryminform.
The order of the Government of the Russian Federation concerns the timing of the opening of the labor movement and the start of temporary operation of the so-called. This new four-lane highway with a length of 8.6 km should connect the Crimean Bridge and the Tavrida highway no later than May 30, 2018.
In the future, they plan to connect the auto approaches with the road network of Kerch and the new railway station. However, the implementation of this project is currently at the design stage. Traffic along the interchange is unlikely to be launched before 2019, when both the station itself and the railway approach to the Kerch Bridge will be built.
Thus, by May 30, 2018, auto approaches will remain isolated from the existing urban road network of Kerch. This means that the start of through traffic on the highway is possible only when traffic on the bridge is opened. The synchronicity of work on the road approaches and the Kerch Bridge itself has been repeatedly stated by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.
Construction calendar
Statistics also indicate that the construction plan is significantly ahead of schedule. The work schedule for the project “Construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait” has been published on the government procurement website. According to the document, the construction of supports in a number of areas was planned to be fully completed only in September and even October next year, and the installation of spans in three out of seven areas at once was planned only by November 2018. Meanwhile, according to official information, as of mid-October, builders had only 13 supports left to build for the road part of the bridge: from Tuzla Island and the Kerch coast to the fairway.
In the remaining areas this type of work has been completely completed. The spans cover about 15.5 km of the road bridge out of 16.8 km provided for by the project. . Some of the bridge spans still need to be concreted before laying the asphalt. These works are 80% completed: out of 66 thousand cubic meters of concrete, builders only have 13 thousand cubic meters left to pour.
And the Kerch Bridge on the fairway supports. This operation was not only one of the largest, but also the most important for completing the work on time. The installation of the arched spans was delayed due to unfavorable weather. But in the end, the builders managed to install them on the fairway supports before prolonged autumn-winter storms and thereby minimize the influence of weather on the pace of bridge construction. 
Builders do not have problems with financing. The Russian government has already allocated almost 167 billion rubles (about 75% of the contract amount) for the construction of the Crimean Bridge. At the same time, the construction customer — FKU Uprdor Taman — accepted the work performed in the amount of more than 102 billion rubles, which is almost half of all funds allocated for the project.
The official date for the opening of traffic on the Crimean Bridge continues to be December 2018. However, over the two years of work, the builders have repeatedly surprised us with the pace of construction of the bridge. It is possible that next year will bring another surprise from them.