The Struve Railroad Bridge (), was the first all-metal railroad bridge over the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...
that existed from 1855 to 1920 in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. The bridge was one of the longest in the empire, yielding in length only to the bridges in Syzran and
Yekaterinoslav
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper R ...
.
History
It was the second stationary bridge over Dnieper with the construction supervision conducted personally by
Amand Struve
Amand Yegorovich Struve (russian: Аманд Егорович Струве) (30 May 1835 – 12 September 1898) was a Baltic German military engineer and bridge specialist of Russian Empire.
Struve's relatives included diplomats, engineers, ...
. This railroad truss bridge was initially named after its constructor, engineer Struve. Standing on 13 piers, it consisted of dozen 292-feet-long sections resulting in size of some 480 sazhens (1440 fathoms). During the construction Struve first in the Russian Empire used caisson method to lay the foundation. For its construction was used 243
pood
''Pood'' ( rus, пуд, r=pud, p=put, plural: or ) is a unit of mass equal to 40 ''funt'' (, Russian pound). Since 1899 it is set to approximately 16.38 kilograms (36.11 pounds). It was used in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. ''Pood'' was first me ...
of iron (3,000 tonnes). Each of the sections were tested to hold 18,000
pood
''Pood'' ( rus, пуд, r=pud, p=put, plural: or ) is a unit of mass equal to 40 ''funt'' (, Russian pound). Since 1899 it is set to approximately 16.38 kilograms (36.11 pounds). It was used in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. ''Pood'' was first me ...
. The total cost of the project round-up to be 3,200 thousands
ruble
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
s. For the construction of the bridge Captain Struve was promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
. During this period of time (1860s-1870s) Struve was involved in various other construction projects as well, such as the installation and improvement of the city's utilities network.
On February 17, 1870 the first train by the Kyiv-Kursk Railways company crossed the bridge to the Kyiv railroad station. However the constant traffic was officially opened on April 4, 1870 after the consecration of the bridge. Similarly to the
Nicholas Chain Bridge
The Nicholas Chain Bridge (or Nikolaevsky Chain Bridge; uk, Миколаївський ланцюговий міст; russian: Николаевский цепной мост) was a chain bridge over the Dnieper that existed from 1855 to 1920 in ...
, the Struve Bridge survived the Great and Civil wars and was blown up in 1920 by the retreating Polish troops (see:
Kiev offensive Kyiv offensive or Kiev offensive may refer to:
* Kiev Offensive (1920), a campaign during the Polish–Soviet war
* Kyiv offensive (2022)
The Kyiv offensive was a theater in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It involved attacks by Russia a ...
).
Today next to the former Struve's bridge stands the newly built Darnytsia Railroad Bridge.
See also
*
Bridges in Kyiv
Kyiv, historically situated on the right bank of the Dnieper River, now covers both banks of the river whose width, as it flows through the city, reaches several hundred metres. Additionally, several tributaries join the Dnieper inside or just ...
Bibliography
*Rybakov, M.O. ''Unknown and not-well-known pages of the Kiev's history''. "Kyi". Kiev, 1997.
*Anisimov, A. ''Sad ignorance''. "Tabachuk Ltd." Kiev, 1992.