The Loren Bridge () is a unique bridge that crosses the
Loren River
Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to:
Given name Men
* Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut
* Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids
* Loren M. Ber ...
, and is located in
Chukotsky District,
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
The two-way bridge is long and wide and was built to connect the roads between the towns of
Lavrentiya
Lavrentiya (russian: Лавре́нтия, Yupik: Ӄышы; Chukchi: Ӄытрын, ''Ḳytryn''; Naukan: ''Qerre'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, locate ...
and
Lorino.
Construction required the structure to span a
river delta
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...
, a notable engineering feat in Russia's Far East.
The first bridge crossing the Loren was constructed in the 1990s, but the difficult Arctic conditions quickly led to the bridge falling into disrepair. The old bridge was deemed unfit for use and is in the process of dismantlement in favor of the new Loren Bridge.
Building of the new bridge started in 2007 in
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
, where the structure was designed and materials were assembled in order to ship them to the bridge site.
In 2008, the
FESCO shipping company delivered construction materials and cement for building of the new crossing by boat from the
port of Vladivostok
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
to Lorino.
The
Steam-ship "Amur" was dispatched for the task on June 12, 2008.
Initial estimates had the bridge being open to the public on October 30, 2009.
The bridge opened on November 2, 2009, when the commission led by the Chief of the Department of Building, Reconstruction and Repair of Highways and Management of Highways, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Evgeny Bessonov officially approved the structure for use by the public.
The Loren Bridge is the first of a series of projects being undertaken under the guidance of Mikhail Zelensky in order to improve Chukotka's infrastructure. Construction of a similar bridge is currently underway over the river Kukun, which is scheduled for completion in 2010. There are also other plans to build similar structures on the rivers of Big and Small Akkani.
Notes
{{Reflist
Bridges completed in 2009
Road bridges in Russia
Bridges over the Loren River
Buildings and structures in the Russian Far East