Tuesday, 14 December
On the 10th of December the assembling of the last bridge span, that connects the sides of the Kola Bay on the southern suburb of Murmansk was finished. The first, who walked across this bridge, together with the builders, was the Governor of the Murmansk region – Yury Evdokimov. The bridge eventually reached the left side of the Kola Bay. And four years ago one could question the successful end of the building. But today it is possible already to walk across the bridge. The length of the bridge is 1 kilometer 611 meters. The cost of works comprises approximately 2 milliard 200 million rubles. According to the technical parameters it will be possible to exploit it for 100 years. Of course, if the planned running repairs will be made on time and if the bridge is exploited correctly. In the beginning of the year the Governor of the Murmansk region promised that by the end of the year it would be possible to walk from one side of the Bay to another. He kept his promise. Till the end of the year it is planed to submit a proposal to the State Duma, concerning the road charge. It seems most likely, that this law will touch this bridge as well. According to the Governor, the road charge will be equal to the amount of money one spends on fuel driving across the Kola Bridge. The transport will be allowed to move across this bridge by the beginning of the next year, although it won’t be easy, as the main part of financing is federal. The works on erecting the bridge started in 1992, when on the right side of the Bay the site for the temporary construction was deposited. The first pier appeared in 1994. There is much to be done yet, but there can’t be doubt that by the next autumn the biggest bridge beyond the Polar Circle will start functioning.
