History of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk

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 railroad crossing the Volga in Europe. Subsequently, he played a major role in the economy of the province and Siberia.

Who made the decision to build?

In the XIX century, laid the railway in Simbirsk, and immediately it was conceived through the Volga to build a bridge. Previously, goods brought along the way, were unloaded from the cars. In summer they were transported to the other side by barges. In winter the cargoes moved from shore to shore along a frozen river. On the opposite side, everything was again loaded into the train wagons.

In the autumn of 1910, Stolypin sailed along the Volga. And for a while he landed on the shore of Simbirsk. During this visit, Prince Dolgoruky, merchants and honorary citizens of Simbirsk led the minister to argue 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 supervision of the erection of the railway bridge.

Start of construction

In 1913, they began to build a bridge. For the design took an engineer with experience NA Belelyubsky, formerly a great specialist in bridge construction and construction mechanics. Before that, he built more than a hundred bridges, he also built large railway bridges, through long and wide rivers.

At the plant in Donetsk (Ukraine) they produced metal for the construction of a bridge. We were brought to Simbirsk, and there they were assembled on site. In the Urals, granite was extracted for the lining of piers. In the Simbirsk province itself , stone and crushed stone were mined. Spans made of rivet iron, this was used for the first time in world practice. The latest technology was used for installation. Underwater works were used for caissons and bridge cranes. The whole construction year was going on, even in severe winter frosts it did not stop. In the summer of 1914 there was a fire on the bridge. And from the mountain passed a landslide, which destroyed eight completely built piers and destroyed 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 time the construction of a large railway bridge was completed. It took only 2.5 years to erect this giant. There is a high level of safety: during the construction work there were no deaths. In October 1916, construction was completed.

Opening

The bridge began operating in 1916, on October 18. And immediately launched cargo transportation. In honor of the bridge, local priests held a moleben with the Bishop of Simbirsk and Syzran and the consecration ceremony of the railway bridge. The governor of the city of Simbirsk expressed 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 "Liberty Bridge". It happened in 1917.

When retreating from the city, the White Guards in 1918 blew up one passage, which was quickly restored by the new power.

Automobile traffic through the Imperial Bridge

During the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the berths of the bridge were expanded. During the reconstruction, the movement on the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk was not stopped. November 6, 1956 opened the railway. When the reconstruction was completed, new spans were redesigned for road traffic. Cars began to drive across the bridge in 1958 at the end of summer (August 10). On the lanes for the movement of cars, the support was attached, for these works divers were involved.

The railway Imperial bridge in Ulyanovsk was built using riveted connections, and the motor bridge - by welding, this became a new word in the construction of bridges. After the completion of the reconstruction of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk and the shore were raised, the railway tracks were returned to the place, and from that time the automobile bridge began to operate.

The last reconstruction of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk was carried out for seven years - from 2003 to 2010. The decision to reconstruct was made because of the fatigue (aging) of the metal. The Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk was not closed to traffic during the repair work.

In the autumn of 2016, the old asphalt covering was dismantled and a new one was laid. The closure of the Imperial Bridge in Ulyanovsk for repairs in 2016 was carried out at night, from 9 pm to 5 am.