Borodino Bridge: Moscow and Kamyshinsky Bridge

On this topic, you can puzzle for a thematic quiz: "One bridge is located in the capital of our homeland Moscow. Another - in the watermelon capital of Russia Kamyshin Volgograd region. But they have the same name. What kind? ". Borodinsky! And let the first - a bright metropolitan thing, and the second - a modest Nizhnevolzhsky provincial, the "namesake" will find a lot in common. For example, both decorate the center of the cities in which they are built. Well, we'll pass, we'll race for each one, look for similarities and differences. The Moscow Borodino Bridge (photo below) amazes imagination by its majesty. Kamyshinsky "fellow" is easier. But both objects can be called extremely important.

Borodino Bridge in Moscow

The Iron Bridge across the Moscow River was built in 1912, the year of the centenary of the victory of the Russian people over the French in the Patriotic War of 1812. Recall, in the decisive battle near the village of Borodino (125 km west of the capital) Napoleon I Bonaparte suffered a crushing defeat. By the way, in France the historical battle is called: "Battle of the Moscow River".

The oldest and most beautiful Borodino bridge in Moscow connects such streets as Smolenskaya and Dorogomilovskaya. From the overpass to the Kremlin, only two kilometers. Not far away is the ever-busy Kievsky railway station. Therefore, "bored" steel three-flying handsome girder (up to 1999 - arched) design is not necessary. The traffic flow does not freeze for a minute.

Supports, colonnades (and along with coastal structures) "dressed" in granite, obelisks and porticoes, built to the present day by the architect R. Klein, survive to this day, give the building a special color. It is worth saying that over the long period of its existence the Borodino bridge has undergone many changes.

All is better and stronger

In 1788, instead of the current stocky handsome man on the waves rocking wooden flooring - "living bridge" called Dorogomilovsky. It is difficult for a modern man to imagine how Russian and French troops passed through such a flexible and dangerous crossing in September 1812, but this is a historical fact.

In 1865, there was an urgent need to build a capital bridge - the crossing suffered from floods. Under this city allocated funds of 300 thousand rubles. When Tsar Alexander II claimed the project of the industrial engineer A. Struve (they say that in real it was I. Rerberg), he called the object Borodinsky (in memory of the 25th anniversary of the victory of the Russians under Borodin).

The construction began on May 2, 1867, completed in a year with a tail - May 15, 1868. The Borodino bridge was made of iron, stood on stone stilts (bulls). The length was 138.8 m, width - 14.9 m. In 1912, in connection with the construction of the Kiev (then Bryansk) station, the transport situation changed.

The bridge with a length of 250 meters, with two pedestrian paths (each with a width of 3, 5 m), solved the problem of increased "motor activity". Later, the road over the water survived two more restorations: in 1952 and in 1999-2011.

Borodino Bridge in the Kamyshin

In Kamyshin it all started from the street. In connection with the fact that many townspeople, including the most famous personality, Lieutenant-General K. Kazachkovsky, were participants in the war with Napoleon, in 1912, in honor of the centenary of the Battle of Borodino of the Patriotic War of 1812, it was decided to rename the main street Bazarnaya in Borodino ( Now Proletarian).

The continuation of the street - a wooden crossing over the river Kamyshinku - was popularly called the Borodino Bridge. About the construction of a new reinforced-concrete, first-class, in Kamyshin began talking in the mid-30-ies of the XX century. But money for the implementation of the idea was not enough, and soon the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 broke out, postponing the peaceful plans of Soviet citizens for later.

Soon after the Great Victory (1945) the city began to quickly turn into an industrial one. In the mid-1950s it became clear that it was no longer possible to postpone the construction of a modern reinforced concrete bridge.

The design documentation was developed by architects from Moscow (Giprocommundortrans). The construction was carried out by the organization "Mostopoezd No. 404" (chief SA Kamrukov), who already had a rich experience in building bridges.

Move open!

It was assumed that a reinforced concrete structure on concrete supports with a pile foundation will be installed in place of the existing wooden Borodino bridge (in fact, the object was slightly displaced). The new Borodino bridge was characterized by the following parameters: length - 250 meters, height - 40 meters, width - 10 meters.

At that time in the Stalingrad region (since 1961 - Volgograd) was an intensive preparation for the launch of the Volga hydroelectric power station. In Kamyshin, large-scale work was carried out to strengthen the banks of the Kamyshinka River, deepening its riverbed (for the filling of the bowl of the Volgograd Reservoir, on whose bank the city has been rising for more than half a century, entailed raising the water level). At the same time, preparations were also underway for the construction of the bridge through this last major tributary of the Volga.

Workers for the construction of the Kamyshinsky bridge were recruited in Astrakhan. To the concreting of the foundations for the support of the masts, they began in the autumn of 1957. In the spring of 1958, the dam was poured out, and the construction of the supports continued. In June 1959, the bridge builders laid the first cubic meter of concrete in the span structures. Worked shock, competed teams. October 15 was the first test of the bridge.

Kamyshinsky Borodinsky received a passport

Soon the pendant road was dismantled, along the railway there were circled (wooden forms supporting the formwork during the construction of reinforced concrete vaults), and they disassembled the fork. Most of the workers of "Mostopoezda No. 404" returned to Astrakhan.

In March 1960, another organization - the participant of the construction of the Borodino bridge in Kamyshin - Volgodonstroy completed its work. The remaining bridge builders and the newly-adopted workers completed the installation of the luminaires. In the summer of 1960, a new reinforced concrete bridge across the river Kamyshinku was completely put into operation (it is believed that the state acceptance took place in 1961).

In the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 , on the initiative of the public and local historians of the city on the Borodino Bridge, on the right and left end, memorial plaques were announced that the bridge was called Borodino.

Thus, the Kamyshin landmark received an official "passport". At a time when machines on the Earth are becoming "as many as people", the provincial Kamyshin, the Borodino bridge at peak hours encounter traffic jams (who would have thought!).

The "old man" copes with the task with difficulty. It's long understood: we need another crossing. Whether she is destined to appear in conditions when Russia's small and medium-sized cities are going through a difficult period, time will tell. Today, the Borodino Bridge continues to carry its hard work alone. The Kamyshans are proud of a modest-looking, but strong structure from the turbulent Soviet past.