Imperial Bridge - a road and rail crossing in the city of Ulyanovsk. It connects the banks of the Volga in the area of the Kuibyshev reservoir.
Specifications
The bridge has a beam structure with through trusses. The length of the main span is 158.5 m. The movement of vehicles is carried out in 2 lanes. The total length of the structure is 2111 m.
The bus routes No. 30, 30E and 46 pass through the bridge, as well as minibuses No. 2, 7, 72, 22, 84, 25, 78, 82, 28.73 and 112.
History
The idea of building a bridge was voiced by Minister P. Stolypin after his visit to Simbirsk in 1910. The new crossing was supposed to connect the Volga-Bugulminskaya and Moscow-Kazan railways. Construction began in 1913. The author of the project was N. A. Belelubsky, as well as engineers A. P. Pshenitsky and O. A. Maddison. More than 3,500 specialists, mainly representatives of working professions, took part in the construction work.
Putting the Imperial (Nikolaev) bridge into operation was delayed by two unforeseen incidents:
- On July 7, 1914, a fire broke out, as a result of which 3 farms collapsed, and the first and second were quite badly damaged. The reason was the negligence of the workers who dropped the hot stave into a pile of garbage. The damage amounted to 2 million rubles.
- On May 29-31, 1915, a landslide took place in Simbirskaya Mountain, which also made it impossible to commission a new crossing in accordance with a predetermined deadline.
To restore the Imperial bridge, the workers took almost 18 months. Its grand opening took place on October 5, 1916.
At that moment, when the first trains passed over the bridge, it was considered the greatest in Europe, and it was proudly shown to foreigners. Initially, the building was called "Imperial Bridge of His Majesty Nicholas II." After the October Revolution, the railway crossing was renamed the Liberty Bridge. Eyewitness accounts have been preserved, according to which the workers who dismantled the tablet with the old name of the building refused to change it to a new one. They motivated such a decision by the fact that each time they are not going to do meaningless work because of the often changing political situation.
First reconstruction
After the opening, the Ulyanovsk bridge (Imperial) began to be intensively operated. In this regard, by the middle of the 20th century, he needed reconstruction. In addition, due to the construction of a hydroelectric power station and the Kuibyshev reservoir, the level of the shipping horizon increased by 7-8 cm. There was a need to strengthen the supports and the transition. It was also decided to build the automobile part of the bridge, where rail traffic was temporarily transferred for the period of reconstruction of the structure. The work was carried out for several years. Only in 1958 was the renewed and fortified Ulyanovsk bridge (Imperial) opened.
The accident of the ship "Alexander Suvorov"
There were also tragic situations in the history of the bridge. In particular, the most famous of the disasters occurred in the late evening of June 5, 1983. At 22:45 the tourist ship "Alexander Suvorov" collided with the sixth span of the Ulyanovsk bridge. As a result of a severe blow, a cabin, chimneys and a cinema hall were demolished in a passenger ship. Due to the accident, the span of the railway bridge shifted by 40 cm. Due to an unfortunate coincidence, at the same time, a freight train weighing 3.3 thousand tons, consisting of 53 wagons loaded with coal, followed along the bridge at a speed of 70 km / h. grain and logs. As a result of the accident, 11 of them went off the rails and capsized. Part of the cargo fell off and fell on the ship. The accident killed 176 people.
In memory of this tragic event and its victims, a mournful Orthodox cross was erected on a small island under the Imperial Bridge.
Reconstruction in the new century
Once again, for repairs, the bridge was closed for the period 2003-2010. The need for a new reconstruction was explained by metal fatigue. The work was entrusted to the construction company "Bridge". She was chosen as the contractor for the competition. Officially it was believed that the complete closure of the Imperial Bridge was not carried out. However, residents of Ulyanovsk remember that getting to the city center from the left bank during this period during the day was possible only at certain hours.
As a result of the repair work, all pre-revolutionary elements of the bridge construction were replaced with new ones.
Repair work in the spring of 2016
The information that the Imperial Bridge will be closed was known to the Ulyanovsk people back in mid-spring. Then it was blocked on both sides from the intersection of the Dimitrovgrad highway with the Zavodsky passage and to the fork in the road in the direction of the Ulyanovsk river port. In addition, the car was suspended on the descent. Stepan Razin.
Work was carried out intermittently from April 29 to May 9 at different hours, mainly on weekends and holidays, when traffic in the center of Ulyanovsk is less intensive than usual.
Overhaul of the Imperial Bridge
And on August 22, 2016 the center of Ulyanovsk was closed. This decision was made by the city authorities in connection with the need to repair the pavement of the Imperial Bridge. Crushed-mastic asphalt concrete was laid.
In order for the townspeople to experience the least possible inconvenience, the local media published a schedule for closing the Imperial Bridge. According to this schedule, the movement of vehicles from the center to the left bank and in the opposite direction was blocked daily from 9 pm to 5 am.
Presidential Bridge
Talking about the oldest rail-road crossing over the Volga in the Ulyanovsk region, one cannot fail to mention another similar facility, the first phase of which was commissioned in 2009. We are talking about the Presidential Bridge, which is currently the longest in the Russian Federation and one of the longest in Europe. He improved transport services for residents of Ulyanovsk and the Volga region, and also allowed to reduce transport costs for the delivery of goods to Europe "Transsib". In addition, its appearance allowed to unload the Imperial bridge and provide communication between parts of the city during the repair of the latter.
The only urban transport route following the bridge in the normal mode is served by bus No. 10.
Now you know, in connection with which, in the summer and early autumn, press reports appeared that the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk would be closed for repairs. It is hoped that after the reconstruction it will last a long time, without requiring frequent repairs, and the residents of the city will not experience the inconvenience associated with changing transport routes.