Bridge over the Eastern Bosphorus Strait. The “Miracle Bridge” in Vladivostok could collapse at any moment. The chief engineer committed suicide. Technical parameters of the project

In Vladivostok, the bridge connecting the mainland with Russky Island has sagged and become deformed. Drivers were the first to notice the problem on the new bridge on Wednesday. It is not easy to see damage at high altitude, especially from a passing car, but the townspeople managed to do it before the specialists. One of the drivers, moving to Russky Island, in particular, saw that the second cable stay from the beginning of the bridge and the fourth from the left sagged and took on a wave-like shape.

Checking this information, a correspondent for the publication vl.ru went to the bridge and counted that nine red cables have a wave-like shape.

The regional administration stated that the bridge to Russky Island is operating normally, changes in the outer shell of the cable stays do not affect the quality and safety of the bridge’s operation, and that the company involved in the maintenance of the bridge, JSC USK MOST, is continuously monitoring it. According to company specialists, the sagging of the cables is due to weather conditions and is a normal situation - this happens often, and “bridge workers know about it.”

USK MOST said on Thursday that the bridge's design was affected by the weather. “The deformation of the outer shell of the cable stays of the Russian Bridge occurred as a result of changes in temperature conditions environment, said the head of the company’s press service, Alexey Skorobogatko. “However, this absolutely does not affect the reliability, durability and safety of operation of the bridge crossing. Due to temperature changes and free space, the deformation of the shell can be observed with the naked eye, but it only performs a protective and decorative function.”

The cable-stayed bridge to Russky Island was built for the APEC summit in 2012 and is a world record holder for the length of the central span, which was 1104 m, and the height of the pylons - 324 m. 32.5 billion rubles were spent on its construction.

Shrouds were manufactured and supplied for the construction of the bridge French company Freyssinet (“Freyssinet International and Company”), which ultimately acted as a consultant to the Russian contractor. In January of this year, a disappearance during bridge construction was reported. large quantity scrap metal worth 96 million rubles.

In the State Enterprise "Federal Administration" highways « Far East(FKU Dalupravtodor) stated: “No violations were detected in the operation of the cable-stayed system on the bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait in Vladivostok.” “In accordance with the contract for the maintenance of the bridge crossing, the cable-stayed system as part of other structures of the bridge crossing is subject to daily inspection,” says the message received by the editors of Gazeta.Ru. — The light wavy surface of the shells of cable stays No. 2 and No. 6 is their design feature and does not affect the strength, reliability and durability of the cable stays, as well as other bridge crossing structures. The entire cable-stayed system was put into operation without any comments or deviations from the requirements of the design documentation.”

General designer of the entire facility, General Director of JSC Giprostroymost Institute St. Petersburg Igor Kolyushev previously on a specialized resource Rosmost described similar movements of the cables:

“Fatigue phenomena in the stiffening beam and cable stays have not been sufficiently studied. Possible winds combined with live loads can affect the bridge design in unpredictable ways.”

Bridge building experts who built a nearby bridge in Vladivostok believe that sagging cable stays are unlikely to pose a risk of disaster. “A bridge is a flexible structure, the span can walk, and the tension of the cables can change, so some visible change in the shape of the cables may not be something dangerous,” Alexander, deputy director for technical issues at the company, told Gazeta.Ru. TMK, which built another cable-stayed bridge in Vladivostok. “The condition of the cables is strictly monitored by sensors of the monitoring system, so if something really out of the ordinary had happened, the bridge would have already been closed and specialists would have been working to fix the problem.”

However, the bridge builder added that nothing similar has happened to the neighboring bridge across the Golden Horn Bay, also built for the APEC summit. “In general, if any guy sag, they will simply tighten it,” Lebedev reassured.

Traffic on the bridge to Russky Island was officially opened by the Prime Minister on July 2, but a few days after the head of government left, the bridge was closed and reopened only in August. However, after just a few weeks, on August 25, traffic was again closed to ordinary motorists due to preparations for the summit and the event itself.

The construction of the bridge to Russky Island is carried out within the framework of the subprogram “Development of the city of Vladivostok as a center of international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The bridge to Russky Island will be one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in the world, the central span of which, 1104 m long, will become a record in world bridge building practice.
This bridge will have both the highest pylon and the longest cable stays.

Bridge parameters:

On August 1, 2012, a significant event took place in the history of the Far Eastern region of our country. On this day, the Russian Bridge (Vladivostok) was put into operation, photos of which immediately graced the pages of leading domestic and foreign publications. And this did not surprise anyone, since long before the opening ceremony many world media outlets called the construction of this structure one of the most ambitious projects of the 21st century.

Story

It was decided to open the Russian Bridge for traffic by the time the APEC Summit began, which was to be held on the island of the same name. Construction of the structure began in the second half of 2008 and lasted for four years. However, the idea of ​​constructing the facility arose many decades before, and more than once. During the 20th century, two designs were developed almost 25 years apart, but neither of the presented designs proved viable.

In 2007, new options were proposed. Among 10 architectural and engineering works presented by the leading design bureaus of our country, experts highlighted the original design of a cable-stayed bridge, although the possibility of constructing a suspension bridge had previously been considered.

Foreign specialists and the best engineering organizations in Russia actively participated in the work on the project.

The general contractor for the construction was the USK Most company, and the total contract amount was 32.2 billion rubles. As for the supervision of the project, it was entrusted to V. Kurepin.

The new bridge was being built at an accelerated pace simultaneously from the mainland side and from the shore of the island. Two teams of construction workers were moving towards each other and met on April 12, 2012.

A month after opening, the facility received official name- Russian Bridge. Vladivostok has acquired a new attraction, which today is considered the main architectural symbol cities.

Architectural features

Thanks to its 1104 m long span, the Russky Bridge is proud and the largest facility of its kind in the world. The entire structure is supported by cables, which are strong cables. They are fixed to poles using fasteners. The height of the Russian Bridge in Vladivostok is 321 m, the distance between the arches and the surface of the water is 70 m. This circumstance allows heavy ships to navigate freely under it.

The load on the pylons of the Russian Bridge is distributed evenly. For the construction of each pillar, 9,000 cubic meters of high-quality concrete were used. One pylon could accommodate a residential neighborhood, and the bridge has two such supports.

The length of the Russian Bridge is 1885.5 m, and its weight is 23,000 tons. equals 24 meters (four stripes).

Bridge Maintenance

A team of technicians and meteorologists constantly monitors the condition of the structure. Specialists servicing the bridge climb to a height of 300 meters using ladders built inside each pylon. Journalists and professional photographers are occasionally allowed to visit these premises. Weather on the bridge, wind direction, visibility, sea waves are monitored to ensure timely implementation of necessary measures.

There is an observation deck at the exit. It offers an amazing view of the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Construction Features

Many experts call the Russian Bridge unique, and not only because of its length. The very construction of such a structure in the climate of Primorye can be considered unusual. High humidity, frequent squally winds, and significant temperature changes created big problems and forced architects and engineers to look for extraordinary solutions. for the Russian Bridge was developed by French scientists who proposed using a special steel composition with a long service life (up to 100 years), at temperatures from -40 ºС in winter to +40 ºС in summer. In addition, the design was created taking into account the requirement of increased aerodynamic stability.

Significance of the structure

The Russian Bridge plays an important role in the life of Vladivostok. It has enormous economic and political importance, and also provides road transport between the mainland and island parts of the city. At the same time, those traveling to Russky Island should remember that military bases have been located there for more than a century, and you can accidentally end up in territory where entry is prohibited for ordinary people.

The regional administration plans to locate modern manufacturing enterprises, hotels, sports facilities, museums and attractions, residential neighborhoods and educational centers on Russky Island in the near future. Thus, with the commissioning of the bridge, broad prospects for investment in new housing construction and the creation of infrastructure facilities have opened up. It has also become the main highway along which FEFU students get to their new campus on Russky Island. On this moment There are already dormitories there that can accommodate up to 11,000 students at a time. In addition, the campus is home to several academic buildings, a high-rise Student Center building, and many sports facilities.

Directions

Unfortunately, you won't be able to walk across the bridge. It is intended only for the movement of public and private vehicles, and today it is considered the fastest and most convenient road from the main part of the city of Vladivostok to the historical one. However, even for drivers and passengers of cars, driving across the bridge causes delight and admiration, as they find themselves at an altitude of 70 meters above the water surface.

Excursions

The Russian Bridge today is often used as a highway along which residents of Vladivostok go to the island of the same name on weekends. There is the historical part of the city, and the ruins of an ancient fortress have been preserved. In addition, there are cannons at the descent from the Russian Bridge. They once belonged to the Novosiltsevskaya battery, built in 1901.

Some Vladivostok residents go to Russky Island in the summer to organize picnics and to sunbathe and swim. In addition, some travel agencies organize sightseeing tours including inspection famous bridges cities. Their program necessarily includes a visit to the islands in Peter the Great Bay.

If you have a chance to visit Vladivostok, be sure to check out the Russian Bridge. It will surely amaze you with its size and power. This structure is especially beautiful in the evening, under the lights of decorative lighting, so many travelers prefer to climb observation decks after sunset.

"Just a light rain"

As a result, several tons of soil buried the garages with cars and, presumably, one boat inside: the road runs almost along the shore of Patroclus Bay.

“When I was standing there, I actually heard the wire breaking and the stones crunching,” a local resident writes about the situation on an online forum. - Creepy and scary. They forbade the children to go to the sea.”

“But it was just light rain of medium intensity for two days,” another eyewitness reports.

Local deputies drew attention to the situation with the highway. “I was at the site of the landslide,” City Duma deputy Alexander Yurtaev told PrimaMedia. - My point of view: the builders tried to make the wall more vertical because of the garages below. The route itself is straight, there are almost no storms on it, and it turns out that the entire flow of water flows directly towards the gabion mesh. And it was still light rain. What if an ordinary coastal typhoon charges? The asphalt had to be laid with a slight slope in the opposite direction so that the water would drain away. And the slope itself should be planted with grass and turf to support the stone laying. This road actually cut off our access to the beach. But the road could have been built differently, through Sakhalinskaya, and then the recreation area of ​​the microdistrict would have been preserved. Unfortunately, the situation has become emergency. Now, in order to remove the consequences, we will have to remove more than 40 meters of asphalt, since there is emptiness underneath, and do everything all over again.”

Local residents sent a collective letter to the governor of the region, Vladimir Miklushevsky, since, in their opinion, the construction of the road practically destroyed the beach, which turned into a rocky desert.

The retaining wall was installed directly on the garage

Currently, traffic along the unfinished section of the highway is blocked by piles of soil piled up after the incident. The asphalt is covered with large faults and cracks over several tens of meters. Use this part of the road local residents now they are afraid. At the same time, TMK press secretary Olga Zarubina assured the Gazeta.ru portal that the incident will not affect the timing of putting the route into operation.

As a local resident named Alexey told reporters, the landslide could have been caused by the fact that builders began installing gabions of a retaining wall directly on the roof of his garage. According to the man, he warned the foreman that the garages were 40 years old and might not hold up. However, the builders did not pay attention to his remark.

ZAO TMK stated that a special commission is investigating the causes of the landslide and they will be named later. It is clear that one of the main reasons for the incident was the rains that continued in Vladivostok since June 9.

“The soil in the first few months after the construction of the road is very unstable and is susceptible to crumbling when abundantly moistened,” Oleg Skvortsov, president of the association of road research organizations, commented on the situation. - When the soil is overgrown with grass and stabilized, it is difficult to move the soil mass. It is difficult to say why the accident occurred. Both the designers and the builders could have made a mistake, but here we need to deal with the situation on the spot.”

It is still unknown who will compensate for material damage to garage owners and whether they will compensate them at all. According to unofficial information, the garages were located on a slope under the road illegally, so local residents can only count on payments for cars buried underground.

The route Novy village - De Vries Peninsula - Sedanka - Patroclus Bay, 42 km long, should connect Vladivostok airport and the bridge to Russky Island. According to the builders, due to the fact that the road will be of “continuous traffic,” that is, without traffic lights and ground pedestrian crossings, the travel time from the airport to the island, which always took at least an hour and a half, will be reduced to 20 minutes. The highway was planned to be put into operation in 2011, but the timing was revised. 29 billion rubles were allocated from the budget for the construction of the facility.

Everybody dance

During the investigation into the reasons for the fluctuations, it turned out that the cause of what happened was corruption: violations of 152 million rubles were identified, and the project turned out to be 1.5 billion rubles more expensive than its true cost. Thus, during the control event it was established that the administration Volgograd region a significant increase in costs for the resettlement of citizens from the construction zone was allowed. The share of such expenses in the estimated cost of construction increased from 2.9% to 9.1% and exceeded 1.1 billion rubles.

Last November, it was reported that experts had strengthened the “dancing bridge” with counterweights to dampen vibrations. The cost of the work amounted to 112 million rubles.

“We can now guarantee the safety of traffic on the bridge. We are now confident that the bridge will never “dance” again, as it did on May 20 last year,” the then governor of the region, Anatoly Brovko, told reporters.

Based on materials:

Vladivostok, November 8 - AiF-Primorye. The bridge to Russky Island in Vladivostok has been criticized since the very beginning of construction. Some experts questioned the feasibility of such grandiose project. Another fly in the ointment was added by Alexey Mikhailov, an analyst at the Center for Economic and Political Research (EPIcenter).

Why is it needed?

The cable-stayed bridge (like its Golden “brother”, which connected the city center with Cape Churkin) to Russky Island was built as part of Vladivostok’s preparation for the APEC summit. The building is unique. After all, the Russian Bridge (this is its official name) has the largest span among cable-stayed bridges in the world, 1104 meters long, and the highest pylons - 324 m.

Economist Mikhailov cites other impressive figures: the cost of the structure is about $1 billion. The same amount was spent on the access road (to the airport and the city).

“This cable-stayed bridge is actually very beautiful, floating in the air with a central span of more than 1 kilometer at a height of 70 meters, supported by two pylons 324 meters high. He is probably great at engineering solutions. And it will certainly now become a new symbol of Vladivostok. But... why is it needed?” asks the expert.

The analyst’s main argument “against the bridge” is the same as that of many critics of the structure - it has a small carrying capacity, and the island's population is too small for such costs.

"Bridge with throughput 50 thousand cars a day leads to the small island of Russky with a population of 5 thousand people. And those mostly poor fishermen living in barracks-type houses do not have cars,” says Mikhailov.

In counterbalance to this criticism, the Vladivostok authorities have repeatedly stated that the bridge was built, among other things, for the development of the island, the program of which includes the construction of many large facilities and the creation of infrastructure for 150 thousand people.

The bridge "doesn't pay for itself"

“What’s next for Fr. Russian? Now there are the same 5 thousand residents left without cars. Honestly, is it really worth spending $2 billion to access beaches by car? Is there no way to get there by ferry? After all, it runs every two hours and even transports cars, it’s not that expensive,” the expert continues.

The development of tourism and the construction of new housing on the island are one thing. But perhaps the main argument in favor of the feasibility of the bridge was the Far Eastern Federal University under construction on the same island. After all, it was planned that the united university would become the largest educational institution in the country and even the world. Students from all over the world will come there to study, and the best foreign teachers will teach there. However, the contractor did not have time to complete the FEFU buildings. And the great “relocation plan” failed, and the students remained on the mainland, at least until construction was completed. Nowadays, only nonresident students live on the island, who go to classes in the city every morning.

To all this we can add the island’s absolutely undeveloped road infrastructure. After you leave the bridge, you find yourself on real " Russian roads", having driven along which you need to resort to auto repair services. That’s why most townspeople don’t dare go there. And taxi companies raise prices for trips to the island - up to 1 thousand rubles from the center of Vladivostok.

Alexey Mikhailov compares the Russky Bridge with its “colleague” Golden Gate in San Francisco, USA. Just not in favor of the first one.

“They are similar in basic characteristics. But the Golden Gate was built 75 years ago, is a toll gate and actually handles 120 thousand cars a day. This bridge literally makes half a million dollars every day. Is the Russian Bridge free and how much traffic will it actually carry per day now, after the end of the APEC summit? A couple thousand cars? Or maybe a couple of hundred?” writes the expert.

However, it is worth noting that neither the bridge builders nor the Primorye authorities share the economist’s opinion.

“This will be a comfortable area of ​​Vladivostok, very convenient for living. Children will be able to go to school here, then to university - and will not have to travel anywhere. As for the other territory of the island, it is planned to leave it as a tourist and recreational zone, he believes Governor of Primorye Vladimir Miklushevsky. - Only the coast will be developed - we are talking about boarding houses and holiday homes. Still, the nature of the island must be preserved as much as possible for posterity.”

“Look at any photograph, tourist brochure: if there is a bridge in the city, then it will certainly be there. The bridge is a kind of monument, an architectural decoration of the city, an achievement of its inhabitants. San Francisco - Golden Gate, New York - Brooklyn Bridge, Hong Kong - Stonecutter Bridge - expresses his opinion Director of the branch of JSC USK MOST in Vladivostok Alexey Baranov. - And one more undeniable advantage, purely practical. By connecting the mainland with Russky Island, the bridge opened up new development prospects. Many cities in Russia, including Vladivostok, suffer from heterogeneity of style: in different periods, under different governments and cultures, they built differently and did not always care about compatibility. And the facade of the city must be properly planned once and for all, only then will it be beautiful. Of course, the city cannot afford to rebuild existing neighborhoods. But in Russky there is a chance to start with a clean slate, ending up with a large and harmoniously built-up area, very promising for development.”

By the way

The issue of building a bridge to Russky Island was raised in the first half of the 20th century. The first project was completed in 1939, the second in the 1960s. However, neither one nor the other was ever implemented. At the beginning of October 2007, NPO Mostovik won the tender to design a bridge crossing to Russky Island. The contractor was JSC USK MOST. Construction of the bridge began in 2008; on July 1, 2012, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev opened working traffic on the bridge, and a month later, on August 1, the bridge was opened for personal transport.