In the autumn of 1916 in Ulyanovsk (the old name of the city - Simbirsk), a new large bridge was opened. At that time it was the largest railway crossing across the Volga in Europe. Subsequently, he played a big role in the economy of the province and Siberia.
Who made the decision to build?
In the 19th century, a railway was laid in Simbirsk, and it was immediately planned to build a bridge across the Volga. Previously, goods brought along the tracks were unloaded from the wagons. In the summer they were transported on barges to the other side. In winter, cargo was moved from coast to coast along the frozen river. On the opposite side, everything was loaded onto the train cars again.
In the autumn of 1910, Stolypin sailed down the Volga. And for some time moored to the coast of Simbirsk. During this visit, Prince Dolgoruky, merchants and honorary citizens of Simbirsk brought arguments to the minister about the relevance, importance and need to build a bridge in order to achieve a high economic recovery in the city. Stolypin agreed and took personal control of the constructionrailway bridge.
Start of construction
In 1913, the construction of the bridge began. An engineer with experience N. A. Belelyubsky, who was a class specialist in bridge building and structural mechanics, took up the design. Prior to that, he built over a hundred bridges, and also built large railway bridges across long and wide rivers.
The plant in Donetsk (Ukraine) produced metal structures for the construction of the bridge. They brought them to Simbirsk, and there they assembled the structures on the spot. In the Urals, granite was mined for facing piers. Stone and crushed stone were mined in the Simbirsk province itself. The spans were made of riveted iron, this was used for the first time in world practice. The latest technology was used for installation. For underwater work, caissons and overhead cranes were used. Construction went on throughout the year, even in severe winter frosts it did not stop. In the summer of 1914 there was a fire on the bridge. And a landslide came from the mountain, destroying eight completely rebuilt piers and destroying many buildings, houses and almost the entire railway station. Because of this, the construction of the bridge was difficult for some time.
In the shortest possible time, the construction of a large railway bridge was completed. It took only 2.5 years to build this giant. There is a high level of safety: there were no deaths during the construction work. Construction was completed in October 1916.
Opening
The bridge began operating in 1916, 18October. And they immediately started shipping. In honor of the beginning of the work of the bridge, local priests held a prayer service together with the Bishop of Simbirsk and Syzran and a rite of consecration of the railway bridge. The governor of the city of Simbirsk expressed his gratitude to the builders and those who decided to build the bridge. At the time of the solemn ceremony, the bridge was named "His Imperial Majesty Nicholas II." But soon the name changed - it was renamed the "Freedom Bridge". It happened in 1917.
When retreating from the city, the Whites blew up one span in 1918, which was quickly restored by the new government.
Car traffic across the Imperial Bridge
During the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the berths of the bridge were expanded. During the reconstruction, traffic on the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk was not stopped. On November 6, 1956, railway traffic was opened. When the reconstruction was completed, the new superstructures were converted for vehicular traffic. Cars began to drive across the bridge in 1958 at the end of the summer (August 10). Supports were attached to the lanes for the movement of cars, divers were involved in this work.
The Imperial railway bridge in Ulyanovsk was built using riveted joints, and the automobile one - using welding, this became a new word in the construction of bridges. After the completion of the reconstruction, the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk and the bank were raised, the railway tracks were returned to their place, and since then it began to workroad bridge.
The last reconstruction of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk took seven years - from 2003 to 2010. The decision to reconstruct was made due to the fatigue (aging) of the metal. The Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk was not closed to traffic at the time of the repair.
In the fall of 2016, the old asph alt pavement was dismantled and a new one laid. The closing of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk for repairs in 2016 was carried out at night, from 9 pm to 5 am.
