Whoever has been to Vladivostok knows how difficult it is sometimes to get from point A to point B. Looking at the map is very close, but in real life everything is not so simple: you can get into the house on the next street only by doing decent circle. Go down the stairs, climb the hill, use the footbridge to cross the street…
Vladivostok is the end of the earth in the fullest sense. The broken edge of the coast, narrow isthmuses, large and small islands - all this is a city that was destined to rule the east by history.
On the edge of an empire
In those distant times, today's huge city looked like a small village on the shores of the Golden Horn Bay with dusty sidewalks, broken roads and lush lilac bushes in the front gardens.
Berths, warehouses and border outposts were at a decent distance from each other. If a ship came into the bay, it was a holiday for all local residents. Sailors as honored guests were taken along the coast. Sometimes it dragged on for months, because it took a lot of time to travel.
But remembering the precepts of Great Peter I,no one even thought about building a bridge across the Golden Horn. Vladivostok, like St. Petersburg, was a border city. And bridges, according to military tacticians, weaken the defense.
Three "necklaces" for the city
Time passed, the city grew, people and transport became crowded and uncomfortable. The distances remained the same, and the time to overcome them increased every year.
At the end of the 19th century, there was an urgent need to build a bridge. Vladivostok at that time was of great interest to Russia. Trade routes to the east and west passed through it. Warships were based here.
The authorities understood that by connecting the two coasts, it would be possible to speed up the delivery of goods to the mainland and to the port. The Russian-Japanese wars, the revolution in the country and the subsequent intervention of the Far East prevented the projects from being realized.
The next time the construction of bridges in the city was remembered only by the sixtieth year of the XX century. After traveling around America, Khrushchev, having seen Vladivostok, got excited about the idea of having his own San Francisco - with soaring bridges, flyovers, wide embankments and skyscrapers hanging over them. Unfortunately, he did not have time to carry out his plans, and the city remained the same.
Finally, for the opening of the APEC summit, it was decided to give the city three precious "necklaces" - amazing bridges.
Golden Bridge
If you go up to the funicular area, then the Golden Horn bay (where the bridge with V-shaped supports is located) serves as a guideline for determining the city center. Vladivostok distinguished itself by decorating Korabelnaya Embankment with an originaldesign.
The first "necklace" in a smooth arc enters the bay and stretches to Cape Churkin. Finally, Svetlanskaya Street was able to relieve itself of the burden of traffic jams. The roads in the historical part of Vladivostok are not wide, and the increase in traffic lanes is impossible due to the landscape.
The Golden Bridge was conceived as an urgent need, but became the pride and hallmark of the city. There is not a single tourist who has not been photographed against the backdrop of pillars in the form of a sign of victory.
The construction of such a complex structure can be considered a breakthrough in engineering and architectural achievements.
Construction stages
In the now distant 2008, a tender was announced for the construction of a bridge in Vladivostok. In June, the results of the competition were summed up. The Pacific Bridge Construction Company was chosen as the general contractor for the construction. Subcontracts were received by such well-known enterprises as Primavtodor, Dalmostostroy and others.
Just a month later, they started the first stage - laying a tunnel that will make it easier to enter the future bridge. The underground structure, 6 meters high and 250 meters long, has a concrete dividing wall in the middle. 2 lanes on each side.
The next two years were needed for the construction of pylons. The work was carried out from both sides of the bay towards each other. It took almost a year to stretch the shrouds and install the spans.
At the end of April 2012, the last seam was welded. Completion of construction honoredthe most eminent residents of the city with their presence.
Bridge blocks were assembled from domestic steel at a shipyard in Nakhodka. When choosing a manufacturer of shrouds, we settled on a company from France. Products with a service life of 100 years are the best guarantee of quality. It took 42 kilometers of cables to stretch.
Since 2010, the project has been developed and the subsequent installation of the bridge lighting. It was decided to install everyday and festive illuminations.
What do you think a bridge lit up at night looks like? Golden Horn! Vladivostok, with its relief and elevation changes, again presented a gift to its admirers.
In June and July 2012, the structure was painted and asph alt laid. Everything was ready for the grand opening of the long-awaited facility.
On August 11, countless crowds of citizens and guests filled the entire length of the bridge, and its length is rather big - just a little short of one and a half kilometers and stopped at around 1388 meters.
Favorite of Primorye Ilya Lagutenko filmed a video for a new song on the day of the holiday. The bridge passed the first two-day strength test. A month after the opening, it received the official name - Golden.
Distinguishing Features
Already at the beginning of construction, it was clear that the bridge would be unique and in some respects would have no equal in the world of bridge building.
Distinctive features of the overpass:
- Nine spans of the bridge support a cable-stayed fan.
- The central segment haslength 737 meters.
- The distance from the water to the lower base of the structure reaches 65 meters.
- Pylons soared to a height of more than 200 meters.
- Six lanes of vehicular traffic and a pedestrian zone.
- Design capable of withstanding 47 m/s hurricane force.
- The Golden Bridge is not afraid of an earthquake of magnitude 8.
- Funds for the construction were allocated by the local and federal budgets. The final cost differs from the declared one by almost 900 million rubles.
The builders spent 4 years and gave the city a long-awaited bridge. Vladivostok has acquired another jewel.
Curiosities and incidents during construction
The implementation of such grandiose projects is not without incident and curiosity.
- The first one happened at the very beginning, during the construction of the foundation pit for the tunnel. A secret object from World War II was discovered.
- Residents of the city, getting acquainted with the construction budget, assumed that the city authorities would take money for using the bridge in order to somehow compensate for the overspending.
- 2 residential districts have disappeared from the map of Vladivostok. This place was required for the construction of a flyover in front of the bridge.
- 2 thousand workers were involved in the work. The Russians got less than half.
- Two fires marred construction. No one was hurt, but the last one was so strong that it took almost 3 hours to extinguish it. The culprits were heat guns, which are used in winter to maintain the desired temperature whenmetal work.
- The last curiosity is more like an ironic joke. The bridge was painted gray and named Golden.
Bridge to Russian Island
The inhabitants of the city could not even dream of such happiness. For many decades, Russky Island remained a military facility closed to the civilian population.
Only in the mid-nineties of the twentieth century, endless sandy beaches became public. Those wishing to get a secluded vacation chartered boats and went to the Russian. In time, it took from 40 minutes to 2 hours. Everything depended on the presence of waves and wind in the bay.
As if frozen in anticipation of the completion of construction Vladivostok. The bridge to Russky Island has the same cable-stayed structure as its older brother, Zolotoy. They were erected almost simultaneously for the same summit in 2012, which was headquartered in the island part of the city.
The overpass across the Eastern Bosporus has a smaller width, only 4 lanes. But in everything else, he broke all records. Each next sentence can begin with the word “most”, and end with “in the world”. And these are not empty words.
- The central span (there are 11 in total) has no analogues in length - 1104 meters.
- Pylons are not inferior to the famous skyscrapers - 324 meters.
- Vehicles up to 70 meters high can pass under the bridge.
- Some shrouds reach a length of about 600 meters.
- The length of the bridge (Vladivostok - Russian Island) was 1886 meters.
To implementThe project required the most accurate calculation of all segments of the structure. This is due to the local climate. Sudden temperature changes, frequent winds and storms, high waves and deep ice can affect the operation of the structure.
The final installation work was carried out at night, because due to the heating of the metal under the sun, it is impossible to make an accurate fit of the structures.
The bridge was opened noisily and solemnly. It was a gift in honor of the city's birthday.
Low Water Bridge
The construction of the low-water was carried out without much noise. Despite this, its value to the city is invaluable. Unloading the streets of the city is the main task assigned to the bridge. Vladivostok got the opportunity to access federal highways bypassing the central streets.
When you drive across the bridge, it is only in the middle that you begin to understand that there is water around. Seagulls are planning instead of pigeons and crows, and the water on the windshield is not rain, but splashes of wild waves.
Low-water has 4 single-level traffic lanes. There is no pedestrian zone, instead of it narrow corridors for service personnel are left. You can accelerate on the bridge up to a speed of 100 km / h. A new generation of LED lamps are used to illuminate at night and during fogs.
The length of the Vladivostok-Russian Island bridge is impressive, but even it seems short compared to the low-water one. Taking into account interchanges, it turned out more than 5 kilometers.
Skeptics said that the bridge across the Amur Bay would harm climate conditions. In particular, low water will interfere with the movement of ice in the bay. Like it or not, time will tell. Technology does not stand still, and if a problem arises, there will definitely be a solution.
Future plans
Three bridges came in handy. Their construction inspired the regional authorities to new ideas. How many bridges are planned to be built in Vladivostok? Here are some of the projects being discussed:
- Cape Tokarevsky - Helena Island.
- Canal Village - Helena Island.
- Shkota Peninsula - Cape Churkin.
- Russian Island - Popov Island.
- Egersheld Peninsula - Russian Island.
If even a part of the program for the construction of new bridges is implemented, Nikita Sergeevich's old dream will come true, and Vladivostok will not only become like San Francisco, but will be better, cleaner and more convenient. Residents of Primorsky Krai sincerely believe that their capital is worthy of everything that will make it one of the first cities on Earth.
