The construction of a bridge between Taman and the Crimea in the water area of the Kerch Strait is carried out in round-the-clock mode and through all weather conditions. Thousands of piles in the mounting base, tons of concrete. For today, the builders have completed the installation of all the supporting structures of the automobile part of the bridge. Half of the roadway is already covered with asphalt. By the end of the year, a single chain of spans will have connected the banks. As of now, you can already walk down the bridge.
Olga Ormyakova is reporting on when it will be possible to drive there. The Crimean bridge vanishes in the fog. Freak weather in the Kerch region tests the limits of the structure. But the construction does not stop even for a minute. The supporting structures of the highway section of the Crimean bridge grow out of the water. The closer to the fairway, the higher the pillars. A total of 288 heavy-duty structures will hold the huge weight of the bridge.
On the Crimean bridge, everything is in motion. One by one, huge spans are installed on supporting structures in the water area of the Kerch Strait. Just like strings, they stretch from the shore to the fairway, gradually gaining altitude. They will meet in a few meters. Spans smoothly approach the snow-white arch. They literally slide on special rails with an average speed of 20 centimeters per minute.
Sergey Alekseev, deputy director of Stroygazmontazh: "The uniqueness is in the length of the span. It is 2 km long.We've never had experience building something like that before. And the total weight of the spans is 17,000 tons".
In late December, builders will be able to walk on foot from one bank to another when the spans are connected to the arch. The road through the Kerch Strait is like a huge multilayer cake. Dough, that is, asphalt, for the bridge is cooked here, in the construction kitchen. It is being laid continuously. This is only the first layer, it is 6 centimeters thick.
Ideally smooth and deformation-resistant. This is because of the special recipe of the asphalt.
Roman Novikov, head of the Federal Road Agency Taman:"We selected the proportion of bitumen-concrete mixture for a very long time. We also took into account several features: the marine climate, ice formation. We've developed an additive component of bitumen that would prevent wheels skidding in winter, too. And the main thing is to keep its firmness and durability".
13 kilometers of the road are already finished. In a year the automobile traffic will start flowing.
Olga Ormyakova, Konstantin Morozov, Nikita Kalchenko, Oksana Serzhantova for Vesti from the Crimean bridge.
