Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge
Encyclopedia
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge is a steel arch bridge
that spans Moskva River
near the mouth of Yauza River
, connecting the Boulevard Ring
with Zamoskvorechye
district in Moscow
, Russia
. It was completed in May 1938 by V.M.Vakhurkin (structural engineering
), G.P.Golts and D.M.Sobolev (architectural design) .
It is surrounded by three lesser bridges, two across Yauza and one across Vodootvodny Canal
: Maly Ustinsky Bridge, Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) Bridge, Komissariatsky Bridge, also described on this page.
The first Ustinsky Bridge across Moskva River was built in 1881, to a very common triple-span arch design by V.N.Speyer . Three spans were 39.5, 44.5 and 39.5 meters long and 19.2 meters wide (4 lanes, including two tram
tracks); each span was suspended by 12 riveted arches. All downtown bridges built in 1880-1911 over Moskva River followed this triple-span shape; none survived in their original shape (Borodinsky
and Novospassky
still stand on original pylons, but arches were replaced with plate girders
). As the archive photo shows, bridge and embankment traffic cross each other in the same level. This was probably the most important reason for replacing the bridge in 1930s (others being insufficient width and shipping clearance).
Lower Yauza river had numerous bridges, dams and water mills since Middle Ages. The 1853 city plan shows a total of four such crossings. One was eventually demolished without replacement, three others correspond (west to east) to present-day Maly Ustinsky, Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) and Tessinsky bridges. Most important of these, Yauzsky Bridge, connecting city center with eastbound roads, was rebuilt in stone in 1804. In 1812, it was in the path of retreating Russian Army when it evacuated Moscow after Battle of Borodino
. Yauzsky Bridge was renamed Astakhovsky after I.T.Astakhov, a steelworkers' leader killed on the bridge during a rally on February 28, 1917
; this title remains official to date .
Before World War II
, city planners intended to complete the Boulevard Ring
with a link through Zamoskvorechye
. This called fo a bridge with higher traffic capacity, so a replacement Bolshoy Ustinsky bridge was built. Maly Ustinsky and Yauzsky (Astakhovsky) Bridge were also torn down and rebuilt to the same high capacity standard. Ring link was never completed; its planned outline can be vaguely traced by a chain of grand stalinist
buildings near Tretyakovskaya
metro station. Traffic through Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge remains relatively low (unlike the busy Yauza bridges).
is supported by I-beams; there are six road lanes and two tram tracks on a raised divider. Two features make this bridge unique:
Bolshoy Ustinsky bridge was reconstructed in 1999-2000, replacing the roadway deck with an improved, lighter orthotropic type. It retained all original structural details.
The first, wooden Komissariatsky Bridge (Комиссариатский мост) across Vodootvodny Canal existed since 1850s, in line with Komissariatsky Lane. It was named after the nearby New Kriegskomissariat, a castle-like military depot (built 1778-1781); there is no relation to Red Commissars of 20th century.
Existing Komissariatsky Bridge continues the Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge path across Vodootvodny Canal into Zamoskvorechye, 300 meters north-west from the old site. It was built in 1927 by Boris Tyazhelov (span 46 meters, width 19.4 meters, shallow concrete arch type). However, it was put to regular use (including trams) only in 1960 .
into westward Kotelnicheskaya Embankment
. Replaced the old steel bridge (1883). Built in 1938 by M.D.Gayvoronsky (structural engineering) and I.V.Tkachenko (architectural design). Total length 64.4 meters, width 40 meters (8 lanes), steel lattice type .
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
that spans Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...
near the mouth of Yauza River
Yauza River
This article is about a river in Moscow, a tributary of the Moskva River. There are three other Yauza rivers in Central Russia: tributaries of the Lama, Gzhat and Sestra....
, connecting the Boulevard Ring
Boulevard Ring
The Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
with Zamoskvorechye
Zamoskvorechye
Zamoskvorechye District is a district of Central Administrative Okrug in Moscow, Russia. Population: The district contains the eastern half of historical Zamoskvorechye area , and the territories of Zatsepa Street and Paveletsky Rail Terminal south of the Garden Ring...
district in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It was completed in May 1938 by V.M.Vakhurkin (structural engineering
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
), G.P.Golts and D.M.Sobolev (architectural design) .
It is surrounded by three lesser bridges, two across Yauza and one across Vodootvodny Canal
Vodootvodny Canal
Vodootvodny Canal is a 4 kilometre long, 30-60 metre wide canal in downtown Moscow, Russia. It was built in 1780s on the old riverbed of Moskva River to control floods and support shipping. Canal construction created an island between Moskva river and the canal. The island acquired its present...
: Maly Ustinsky Bridge, Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) Bridge, Komissariatsky Bridge, also described on this page.
History
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
tracks); each span was suspended by 12 riveted arches. All downtown bridges built in 1880-1911 over Moskva River followed this triple-span shape; none survived in their original shape (Borodinsky
Borodinsky Bridge
Borodinsky Bridge is a steel plate girder bridge that spans Moskva River, connecting Dorogomilovo District and Kievsky Rail Terminal with the centre of Moscow, Russia . The bridge was built in 1911–1912 as deck arch bridge by N.I. Oskolkov, M.I. Schekotov and Roman Klein...
and Novospassky
Novospassky Bridge
Novospassky Bridge is a steel plate girder bridge that spans [Moskva River], connecting Novospassky Monastery and Paveletsky rail terminal areas in Moscow, Russia . It was built in 1911, as a triple-span steel arch bridge. Reconstruction in 2000 replaced arches with a simpler plate girder structure...
still stand on original pylons, but arches were replaced with plate girders
Plate girder bridge
A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders. The plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates , which are welded or, in older bridges, bolted or riveted together to form the vertical web and horizontal flanges of the beam...
). As the archive photo shows, bridge and embankment traffic cross each other in the same level. This was probably the most important reason for replacing the bridge in 1930s (others being insufficient width and shipping clearance).
Lower Yauza river had numerous bridges, dams and water mills since Middle Ages. The 1853 city plan shows a total of four such crossings. One was eventually demolished without replacement, three others correspond (west to east) to present-day Maly Ustinsky, Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) and Tessinsky bridges. Most important of these, Yauzsky Bridge, connecting city center with eastbound roads, was rebuilt in stone in 1804. In 1812, it was in the path of retreating Russian Army when it evacuated Moscow after Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
. Yauzsky Bridge was renamed Astakhovsky after I.T.Astakhov, a steelworkers' leader killed on the bridge during a rally on February 28, 1917
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
; this title remains official to date .
Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, city planners intended to complete the Boulevard Ring
Boulevard Ring
The Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
with a link through Zamoskvorechye
Zamoskvorechye
Zamoskvorechye District is a district of Central Administrative Okrug in Moscow, Russia. Population: The district contains the eastern half of historical Zamoskvorechye area , and the territories of Zatsepa Street and Paveletsky Rail Terminal south of the Garden Ring...
. This called fo a bridge with higher traffic capacity, so a replacement Bolshoy Ustinsky bridge was built. Maly Ustinsky and Yauzsky (Astakhovsky) Bridge were also torn down and rebuilt to the same high capacity standard. Ring link was never completed; its planned outline can be vaguely traced by a chain of grand stalinist
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
buildings near Tretyakovskaya
Tretyakovskaya
Tretyakovskaya is a cross-platform station on the Moscow Metro serving the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya and the Kalininskaya Lines. It is named after the nearby State Tretyakov Gallery. Unlike Kitay-gorod which was purpose-built as a cross-platform interchange station, Tretyakovskaya operated normally...
metro station. Traffic through Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge remains relatively low (unlike the busy Yauza bridges).
Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge (1938)
The bridge is 40 meters wide and 478 meters long; main span is 134 meters long, having six parallel steel arches (span formula 50.5+134.0+50.5 meters). Orthotropic deckOrthotropic deck
An orthotropic bridge or orthotropic deck is one whose deck typically comprises a structural steel deck plate stiffened either longitudinally or transversely, or in both directions. This allows the deck both to directly bear vehicular loads and to contribute to the bridge structure's overall...
is supported by I-beams; there are six road lanes and two tram tracks on a raised divider. Two features make this bridge unique:
- There are no massive stone pillars: arches are set onto low pylons that do not protrude above street level. Each pylon rests on a flat slab measuring 31.2 by 40.0 meters.
- It is the only major downtown bridge that retains tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
traffic (routes A, 3, 39 – the last and only tram line inside Garden RingGarden RingThe Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring , is a circular avenue around the central Moscow, its course corresponding to what used to be the city ramparts surrounding Zemlyanoy Gorod in the 17th century....
).
Bolshoy Ustinsky bridge was reconstructed in 1999-2000, replacing the roadway deck with an improved, lighter orthotropic type. It retained all original structural details.
Komissariatsky Bridge (1927)
Existing Komissariatsky Bridge continues the Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge path across Vodootvodny Canal into Zamoskvorechye, 300 meters north-west from the old site. It was built in 1927 by Boris Tyazhelov (span 46 meters, width 19.4 meters, shallow concrete arch type). However, it was put to regular use (including trams) only in 1960 .
Maly Ustinsky Bridge (1938)
Spans right over the mouth of Yauza, continuing Moskvoretskaya EmbankmentMoskvoretskaya Embankment
Moskvoretskaya Embankment is a major street, located in the Kitay-Gorod administrative district in central Moscow, running along the Moskva River....
into westward Kotelnicheskaya Embankment
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment is a street on the northern bank of Moskva River in central Tagansky District of Moscow, Russia. It spans from the mouth of Yauza River to the point one block west from Bolshoy Krashokholmsky Bridge , where it changes name to Goncharnaya Embankment.-Kotelnicheskaya...
. Replaced the old steel bridge (1883). Built in 1938 by M.D.Gayvoronsky (structural engineering) and I.V.Tkachenko (architectural design). Total length 64.4 meters, width 40 meters (8 lanes), steel lattice type .
Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) Bridge (1940)
Astakhovsky (Acтаховский) Bridge across Yauza was built in 1940 by I.N.Golbrodsky (structural engineering) and I.V.Tkachenko (architectural design) on the site of old Yauzsky Bridge (1804), 250 meters upstream from Yauza mouth. Total length 46.4 meters, width 36 meters (8 lanes), concrete lattice type.See also
- List of bridges in Moscow
- Seven SistersSeven Sisters (Moscow)The "Seven Sisters" is the English name given to a group of Moscow skyscrapers designed in the Stalinist style. Muscovites call them Vysotki or Stalinskie Vysotki , " high-rises"...
- Moscow Tram Photographs of Ustinsky and Komissariatsky bridges, 2000, soon after bridge reconstruction