The construction of a 628-meter-long bridge complex over the Desna River, one of the largest infrastructure projects implemented in Ukraine during the war, has been completed near Chernihiv.
Avtostrada, the company that performed the construction work, announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
"This structure plays a crucial role in the reconstruction and development of the region, as it provides the shortest route from the Kyiv highway directly to downtown Chernihiv," the company said.
The first phase of the bridge was opened to traffic in May. The two carriageways on the bridge are now fully operational, providing two lanes in each direction.
Before construction began, a temporary crossing was created by restoring the old bridge that Russian forces destroyed during the siege of Chernihiv in March 2022. The riverbed of the Desna River was cleared of debris, with 400 tons of metal structures lifted out of the water.
The bridge was built over two years using the Design & Build system, which allows designers and builders to work simultaneously.
To ensure navigability and the required water level and meet all geometric parameters, the longest span of the bridge - a 106-meter section across the river - was built with steel, with no in-water supports.
The girders for this span were made from the last pre-war batch of steel produced by the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
"The bridge’s spans over the river’s banks were made of monolithic reinforced concrete using post-tensioned concrete structures. Given the unique shape of the bridge, with its bends and extensions, this technology allowed us to implement complex architectural solutions," the company said.
The bridge complex is equipped with a monitoring system to track the condition of its structural elements under traffic loads. It also has a weather station that records and displays road surface temperature, weather conditions, accident warnings, traffic restrictions, etc. on electronic panels.
