A video has appeared on the Internet showing how bridge builders raised the railway arched span of the Crimean Bridge to fairway supports- to a height of 35 meters from sea level. This was reported by the information center of the Crimean Bridge project.

The process of lifting the arch, weighing more than 6 thousand tons, to the designed height took about 12 hours. The structure will be secured throughout the day.

“The rise took place in normal mode. We walked more slowly up to the 10-meter mark, did a lot of control tests, and carried out geodetic monitoring of the condition of the structure. Then the main ascent began. The arch was raised slightly above the design height for subsequent lowering onto the supporting parts. Over the next 24 hours, the structure will be equipped with wind braces - these are devices that secure the arch,” said the deputy production director of Mostootryad-1.

To install the overall structure, “strands” of high-strength cables were secured along both edges of the arched span, stretched to the arch from 16 jacks installed at the top of the fairway supports. The arch was raised on 700 cables using powerful jacks attached to supports. The lifting capacity of each jack is 650 tons, so, despite the weight of the arch being 6 thousand tons, the builders provided a 40 percent reserve for lifting mechanisms,” said the Crimean Bridge Information Center. The jacks were loaded gradually. The initial load of 5 tons was increased to 100 tons. The structure rose without deviation, within the alignment between two supports.

After the arch was “severed” from the floating system by one meter, it was kept suspended for an hour. During this time, specialists once again checked the reliability of all mechanisms and only then continued the ascent.

The floating supports, with the help of which the arch was towed, returned to the Kerch shore. They will be rechecked and re-equipped, after which the second arched span - the road one - will be transported and installed in the same sequence. As a result, two arched spans will rise above the fairway, under which ships will pass unhindered. Over the next month, builders will install the end elements of the arch and also unwind it - lowering it onto special supporting parts.

Installing the arches of the Crimean Bridge into the designed position is a unique technological operation.

For the first time in the history of domestic bridge construction, transportation, positioning in sea conditions and installation from the water onto the supports of a large navigation span are being carried out.

The maritime operation is carried out in conditions of limited shipping with a time window of 72 hours. In general, the operation brought together hundreds of specialists - sailors, specialized engineers, employees of research institutes and ordinary bridge builders.

During the operation, navigation along the Kerch-Yenikalsky Canal was limited. The ban did not apply to ships and vessels of the Navy, as well as federal security agencies. Vessel traffic will resume as normal. The final installation of the arch on the fairway supports will take about another month.

The arched span of the railway part of the Crimean Bridge is a combination of a span with through main trusses and an arch. The trains move along the elements of the truss, while the arch, in conditions of such a long span, performs a supporting function. The truss and arch elements are connected by pendants. Span length - 227 m. Height at the highest point - 45 m. Width along the axes of the arches - 20 m at the end, 5 m at the castle (highest point). Train movement is provided on two tracks. The design includes inspection passages, cable-supporting systems, drainage trays, lightning protection and grounding, a monitoring system for engineering structures, air navigation and ship alarms, a centralization and interlocking system, communications and lighting poles, and architectural lighting.

The total cost of the Kerch Bridge will be 227.92 billion rubles in prices of the corresponding years. The bridge will become the longest in Russia; it will connect the Crimean Peninsula with the mainland of the Russian Federation by road and railway.

The capacity of the four-lane highway will be 40 thousand cars per day, Railway will include two paths with throughput 47 pairs of trains per day. Car traffic on the bridge should open in December 2018, train traffic on December 1, 2019. More than 200 major pieces of equipment, more than 20 units of watercraft and more than 5 thousand people are used at the facility every day.

The Kerch Bridge is one of the largest bridges in Russia. Its length is 19 km. The route begins on the Taman Peninsula, passes along the existing five-kilometer dam and the island of Tuzla. Then it crosses the Kerch Strait, rounding Cape Ak-Burun from the north, and reaches the Crimean coast.

Earlier, Kyiv expressed that, according to the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Yuriy Lavrenyuk, this will lead to a reduction in the number of ship calls at the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk. This circumstance, in turn, will lead to a decrease in the profits of trade operators and the administration of Ukrainian seaports.

On August 29, 2017, the railway arch span of the bridge to Crimea reached its design height of 35 meters. The bridge builders reported the end of this stage of the operation at 9:30 am.

The official website of the Crimean Bridge construction reports details of the arch’s lifting.

“The ascent went as usual”

The structure weighing more than 6 thousand tons was lifted using lifting equipment under the control of the leading engineers of the project. The process of raising the arch to the designed height took about 12 hours.

“The ascent took place as usual. We walked more slowly up to the 10-meter mark, did a lot of control tests, and carried out geodetic monitoring of the condition of the structure. Then the main ascent began. The arch was raised slightly above the design height for subsequent lowering onto the supporting parts. Over the next 24 hours, the structure will be equipped with wind ties - these are devices that secure the arch,” the Crimean Bridge quotes as saying Deputy Director for Production of Mostootryad-1 Mikhail Piksaev.

The arch was raised on 700 cables using powerful jacks attached to supports. To install the large structure, 16 devices were needed, each with a lifting capacity of 650 tons. This made it possible to increase the safety margin for lifting mechanisms by 40%.

The jacks were loaded gradually. The initial load of 5 tons was increased to 100 tons. The structure rose without deviation, within the alignment between two supports.

Something we can be proud of

The operation began at approximately 19:00 on August 28. The separation of the arched span from the floating pier occurred at 21:00. At each stage of the lift, specialists monitored the state of the system, and only then gave the go-ahead to continue work.

After the arch is secured, permission will be given to resume the passage of ships through the Kerch Strait. But from now on and forever they will do this under the grandiose bridge leading to Crimea.

There are things that we have the right to be proud of. The current operation is unique - for the first time in the history of domestic bridge construction, transportation, positioning in sea conditions and installation from the water onto the supports of a large navigation span are being carried out. Only a few countries in the world can do this.

Work on the arched span will continue: in the next month, builders will install the end elements of the arch, and also unwind it - lower it onto special supporting parts.

Not long left before walking to Crimea

As for the floating supports, they will return to the technological site off the Kerch coast. There they will begin to be checked and prepared for delivery to the fairway of the arched span of the road bridge. This operation is planned for September, and the exact timing of its implementation will depend on the readiness of the equipment and, most importantly, weather conditions.

The installation of arched spans on the fairway supports of the bridge is a kind of symbolic milestone in construction. After this operation is completed, it will be possible to de facto walk across the bridge under construction from Taman to Crimea and back, as Russian officials previously promised journalists.

According to the project, the launch of the automobile part of the bridge should take place in December 2018, the railway part - in December 2019.

Bridge to Crimea, one of the most ambitious Russian projects post-Soviet period, is part of the ring road being created around the Black Sea for the needs of the Black Sea states, shortening the road by 450 km without the need for a detour through Rostov-on-Don.

The builders of the bridge across the Kerch Strait lifted the railway arched span of the Crimean Bridge onto fairway supports - to a height of 35 meters from sea level.

As reported in information center The Crimean Bridge, a structure weighing more than 6 thousand tons, was lifted using lifting equipment under the control of the leading engineers of the project. The process of raising the arch to the designed height took about 12 hours. The arch will be secured during the day.

“The ascent took place as usual. We walked more slowly up to the 10-meter mark, did a lot of control tests, and carried out geodetic monitoring of the condition of the structure.

Then the main ascent began. The arch was raised slightly above the design height for subsequent lowering onto the supporting parts. Over the next 24 hours, the structure will be equipped with wind braces - these are devices that secure the arch,” said Mikhail Piksaev, deputy production director of Mostootryad-1.

The arch was raised on 700 cables using powerful jacks attached to supports. To install the large structure, 16 devices were needed, each with a lifting capacity of 650 tons. This made it possible to increase the safety margin for lifting mechanisms by 40%.

The jacks were loaded gradually. The initial load of 5 tons was increased to 100 tons. The structure rose without deviation, within the alignment between two supports.

After the arch was “severed” from the floating system by one meter, it was kept suspended for an hour. During this time, specialists once again checked the reliability of all mechanisms and only then continued the ascent.

30 engineers, slingers, surveyors and quality specialists took part in this work.

The floating supports, with the help of which the arch was towed, returned to the Kerch shore. They will be rechecked and re-equipped, after which the second arched span - the road one - will be transported and installed in the same sequence. As a result, two arched spans will rise above the fairway, under which ships will pass unhindered.

Over the next month, builders will mount the end elements of the arch and also unwind it - lowering it onto special supporting parts.

Installing the arches of the Crimean Bridge into the designed position is a unique technological operation. For the first time in the history of domestic bridge construction, transportation, positioning in sea conditions and installation from the water onto the supports of a large navigation span are being carried out.

The maritime operation is carried out in conditions of limited shipping with a time window of 72 hours. In general, the operation brought together hundreds of specialists - sailors, specialized engineers, employees of research institutes and ordinary bridge builders.

Bridge builders lifted the railway arched span of the Crimean Bridge onto fairway supports - to a height of 35 meters from sea level. The structure weighing more than 6 thousand tons was lifted using lifting equipment. The process of raising the arch to the designed height took about 12 hours. The arch will be secured during the day.

“The ascent took place as usual. We walked more slowly up to the 10-meter mark, did a lot of control tests, and carried out geodetic monitoring of the condition of the structure. Then the main ascent began. The arch was raised slightly above the design height for subsequent lowering onto the supporting parts. Over the next 24 hours, the structure will be equipped with wind braces - these are devices that secure the arch,” said Mikhail Piksaev, deputy production director of Mostootryad-1.

The arch was raised on 700 cables using powerful jacks attached to supports. To install the large structure, 16 devices were needed, each with a lifting capacity of 650 tons. This made it possible to increase the safety margin for lifting mechanisms by 40%.

The jacks were loaded gradually. The initial load of 5 tons was increased to 100 tons. The structure rose without deviation, within the alignment between two supports.

After the arch was “severed” from the floating system by one meter, it was kept suspended for an hour. During this time, specialists once again checked the reliability of all mechanisms and only then continued the ascent. 30 engineers, slingers, surveyors and quality specialists took part in this work.


The floating supports, with the help of which the arch was towed, returned to the Kerch shore. They will be rechecked and re-equipped, after which the second arched span - the road one - will be transported and installed in the same sequence. As a result, two arched spans will rise above the fairway, under which ships will pass unhindered.

Over the next month, builders will install the end elements of the arch, and also unwind it - lower it onto special supporting parts.

Installing the arches of the Crimean Bridge into the designed position is a unique technological operation. For the first time in the history of domestic bridge construction, transportation, positioning in sea conditions and installation from the water onto the supports of a large navigation span are being carried out. The maritime operation is carried out in conditions of limited shipping with a time window of 72 hours. In general, the operation brought together more than a hundred specialists - sailors, specialized engineers, employees of research institutes and ordinary bridge builders.