Many have seen the Amursky Bridge in Khabarovsk. Even those who have never been to the Far East. It is this bridge that is depicted on the 5000 ruble banknote. Locals proudly call it the "Amur miracle".
Amur miracle
The bridge over the Amur in Khabarovsk is the longest on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Along the river bed, it stretches for 2600 m, and its total length is 3690 m. The height of the bridge is 60 m, the length of its spans is 127 m.
"Amur miracle", "Crown of the Transsib" - the bridge has many loud epithets. And this is not surprising, because the Great Siberian Route has finally closed on it. He linked the center of Russia with the Far Eastern outskirts. It can be safely called a landmark of Khabarovsk.
Initially, the Amur bridge was only a railway one. After the reconstruction, cars began to drive along it. Pedestrian traffic is now absent, although earlier it was possible to walk along the bridge at a leisurely pace. The bridge is guarded, all approaches to it are closed.
The Amur Miracle amazes with its scope and sharpness of engineering. No wonder he was honored to be on the highest denomination banknote. It is noteworthy that on the banknote it is also depicted as one-track, before the construction of the second stage.
History of the Amur Bridge
They built, blew up and built again - this is a short history of the Amur Miracle. The bridge in Khabarovsk has survived two wars and two explosions.
The designers faced a difficult task: Amur-Father is a river with a wayward character. It has a fast current, and the depth reaches 14 m. Two great Russian engineers, Lavr Proskuryakov and Grigory Perederiy, worked on the project. The first one worked on the channel part of the bridge, and the second one - the left-bank approach overpass.
The project turned out to be innovative and assumed a combination of steel and reinforced concrete, unusual for that period. As a result, the turbulent Far Eastern river was blocked by a chain of metal trusses and a reinforced concrete arched overpass.
About 18 tons of metal were used for the construction of the Amur Miracle. Its construction cost the Russian treasury nearly 14 million rubles. In those days it was fabulous money.
Granite for the supports was brought from local quarries on the Tunguska River. Farms were made in Warsaw, transported by rail to Odessa, transported by ships through the Suez Canal, the Indian and Pacific Oceans to Vladivostok. There they were overloaded and delivered by rail to Khabarovsk.
Mostly soldiers were involved in the construction of the bridge. The labor of convicts was also used, which was the norm for that time.
The construction, unprecedented at that time, was built in a little over three years. The bridge was awarded the Big Gold Award at the World Exhibition of Technical Achievements. It was inaugurated on November 5, 1916. Initially, the bridge was called Alekseevsky, in honor of Tsarevich Alexei Romanov.
But he did not please people for so long. During the Civil War, the bridge was blown up. This was done on April 5, 1920 by the partisans retreating from Khabarovsk. Five years later, it was decided to restore the Amur Miracle.
In the late 1980s, it became clear that even brilliant engineering ideas do not last forever. The Khabarovsk bridge across the Amur has ceased to cope with the increased flow of railway transport. His rebirth took place in the 90s. The reconstruction of the bridge was carried out in several stages. In total, it lasted over a dozen years. The updated design turned out to be less elegant, but it meets modern realities.
Tours
You can enjoy the majesty of the Khabarovsk Bridge from the window of a car or train. It is not possible to walk on it at the moment. However, you can visit the Museum of the History of the Amur Bridge. It is located in the adjacent territory. Its main exhibit is a 127 m long metal truss. This is one of the elements of the Tsar's bridge. The farm was dismantled during reconstruction and left as a keepsake for posterity. It is mounted on stylized props.
The museum works according to the following schedule: Monday and Sunday - closed; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - by prior arrangement. Free visit is possible only on Saturday. Opening hours - from 10 am to 5 pm Admission is free.
How to get there
The bridge across the Amur in Khabarovsk begins in the Krasnoflotinsky district of the city, from the intersection of Tikhookeanskaya and Trekhgornaya streets. You can get there by car or public transport: by buses No. 8, 11, 15, 16, 23, 57 or by tram No. 5 to the Depo stop.
