During excursions in St. Petersburg, guides often hear the question of what is the longest drawbridge? And they learn that the bridge of Alexander Nevsky holds the palm. The length (without buildings on the shore) is 629 meters, with ramps - almost a kilometer (905.7 m). The width of the building is thirty-five meters. The unique was built in 1965, although it could have stood on the threshold of its century: the construction across the Neva River, in the interval between Zalessky and Nevsky Avenues, was provided for by the general plan of the city of a distant revolutionary era (1917).
On a competition basis
Connecting the right bank of the city with the center, Alexander Nevsky Bridge completes the main street of St. Petersburg. It is believed that old Peter ends here, he escorts daily passengers and pedestrians to the historic district of Malaya Okhta, where the “stalinkas” (houses built during the period from 1930 to 1950), typical buildings of the 1960s, stand.
A direct and short path made of iron and concrete brought the Okhtins (and the population of vast neighborhoods) to a qualitatively new level of being. The pluses include the fact that the line passed through Nevsky, “bringing together”, finally, M. Okhta and Vasilievsky Island.
The history of the construction of the bridge in close proximity to Alexander Nevsky Square and its continued existence are full of complex, sometimes dramatic moments.
In 1960, the Leningrad City Executive Committee announced a competition for the best plan for an overpass through the main waterway of St. Petersburg. An unusual event at that time was of a closed nature (a truly unprecedented case in the days of the planned economy). The competition for the creation of technical and decorative projects was attended by Leningrad and Moscow organizations involved in the design of bridges.
The Lenproject Institute for the Design of Housing and Civil Engineering had the right to participate in the idea parade. The Leningrad branch of the USSR AS&A (Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture).
We took into account all the details
Having experienced many busy days and sleepless nights, experts have shown the world how they see the Alexander Nevsky Bridge. A strict jury decided not to award the main prize, considering that not a single project meets the necessary requirements. The second prize was awarded to the version developed by the Lengiprotransmost Institute. The plan of the Leningrad branch of the USSR AS&A was also singled out from the total mass, but the academics never received a signal “For execution”.
Design tasks and working drawings were dealt with by Lengiprotransmost. According to the huge number of plans, it was necessary to build multi-level complexes of bridges, tunnels, roads, clearly breeding future traffic flows. The interchanges on the right and left banks of the Neva were carefully thought out.
The authors made the spaces inside the bridge ramps work: they planned parking garages for 230 cars. But this is not what impresses the Alexander Nevsky Bridge. Wiring! Here is a shock for the eye and imagination. The two-winged span of a reinforced concrete river handsome resembles the flapping of the wings of a giant bird. However, all this people saw later, and then, well prepared, the performers began construction.
In the world, as you know, there is no harmony
And then he came a momentous moment of 1965, when the Alexander Nevsky bridge ascended over the Neva in seven spans. The axis of symmetry is the center of the draw section (its length was 50 meters). As planned, the “gate” for ships with a fixed axis of rotation is located exactly in the middle of the river. It was evident that the adjustable span is based on more massive supports than all the others.
It seemed to many that the massive "swing" part of the bridge interferes with the harmonious perception of the structure. The main components - dimensions, color, material of which it consists, are “against” with the same elements of stationary spans, which are overlapped by continuous reinforced concrete beams of variable height. But harmony is good, and reliability is better.
As for the bridge fencing, lampposts (they are also tram and trolley bus poles ), structures for fixing the supporting and fixing devices of the contact network, all these elements are designed in a strict, modern style and perfectly complement the look of the now historical “crossing”.
And today, some consider the building majestic, others do not find anything special in it, except for traffic jams during peak hours. Is the junction at the Alexander Nevsky bridge unable to cope with modern traffic?
Riding on top is the highlight of the bridge (a category of equal-height buildings). Designed in accordance with the proportionality of the design of large parts of the structure (main beams, supports), they look quite elegant. They were tested for strength on May 15, 1965 (a column of tanks passed along the bridge).
Time tested
The celebration of the opening of the bridge, which received the name of the patron saint of the city - the Russian commander Alexander Nevsky, took place on November 5. When construction was ongoing, the facility was called Staro-Nevsky. Among the applied new technologies are reinforced concrete shells for supports, buried at a depth of 35 meters, the use of cables (standing rigging cables), the tension of which, depending on the air temperature, was controlled by instruments and structures of span structures of a V-shape.
But advanced technologies have not become a guarantee of one hundred percent quality. Glass wool waterproofing dissolved in a material common at that time called bitumen; the cannons treated with cannon oil rusted; the cables began to burst (56 pieces broke in two years).
To top it all off, in 1987 a counterweight to the adjustable span (weighing 17 tons!) Fell into the river. The bridge was closed for repairs. Organized the work of a temporary ferry. Soon, the main movement resumed, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. Defects that threaten the integrity of the bridge are not eliminated.
Large-scale work on elimination of malfunctions, worn-out structural elements, restoration and replacement in order to improve the operational characteristics of the bridge was carried out in the new millennium (2000-2002). The adjustable span, stationary parts of the crossing, the walls of the embankment adjacent to the structure were restored, the waterproofing and twelve kilometers of steel ropes were replaced.
Since 2003, the “record holder in length” has been decorated with artistic lighting. It consists of five thousand lamps, eight devices with mirrors and reflectors (spotlights). With such magical lighting, the divorce of Alexander Nevsky Bridge is a surreal plot.