New Darnytskyi Bridge

The New Darnytskyi Bridge, also known informally as the Kirpa Bridge, is a combined road and railroad bridge in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It spans across the Dnieper River connecting the left and right banks of the city, the Darnytsia and Holosiiv districts of Kiev, respectively. The bridge carries a double track rail line and is built to accommodate six lanes of road traffic.

Already in operation, the bridge complex currently lacks road connection ramps from some directions which are still under construction. Additional railroad links to match the new bridges' capacity are also being constructed. The bridge's expected capacity is 60,000 vehicles and 120 pairs of trains per day, which will serve as a major relief for both the Kiev road and bridge network and as well as Ukraine's Ukrzaliznytsia national rail system.

Location and design

The new bridge is being constructed 50 m (164 ft) north of the existing Darnytskyi Railroad Bridge.

History

The bridge construction is the initiative of the late Heorhiy Kirpa, the head of Ukrzaliznytsia and the Minister of Transportation in the early 2000s (hence the unofficial name).

The 1,100 m (3,609 ft)-span will cost an estimated $700 million. Its construction was ordered by the state-owned Ukrzaliznytsia rail company and financed by the government, but the Kiev municipality co-sponsors the project. The main developer of the project is Kyivdniprotrans, and the main constructor is BMK Planeta-Mist. Following the construction of the bridge, a new major passenger terminal will be completed in the Darnytsia Railway Station on the left bank of the city.

In July 2006 one third of the bridge was constructed and the first train was initially expected to run through the bridge in the second half of 2007. However, in spring of 2007, cracks were discovered in the bridge's structure, delaying its construction. The bridge opening was then scheduled for March 2008. On May 7, 2010 the bridge was tested with first electrified train traffic. On September 27, 2010 the railroad segment of the bridge was officially opened; on March 31, 2011, road traffic opened. As of the last government notice, the bridge was expected to be fully completed in 2012.

In 2011, the Ukrainian government spent a total of UAH 1.5 Billion for the project.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "New Darnytskyi Bridge" and modified on July 23, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.