North Bridge in Kyiv

This piece of engineering is not only a handsome ornament to present day Kyiv, but also a unique European technical achievement. With the development of the city and building construction on the rapid development of the Dnieper’s left bank it was obvious that a substantial bridge was needed. The go ahead came in 1966. It took five years to develop and finish the plans, which were finally approved by the USSR Council of Ministers in Moscow. The working title “North Bridge” was initially changed to “People’s Friendship Bridge” and then eventually “Moscow Bridge”. Construction of this complicated structure was carried out between 1971 to 1976 and involved specialist skills from Kyiv, Voronezh, Hartsyz, and many other cities. Its length is 816 m, width – 32 m, and the cable pylon height – 116 m. The bridge is decorated with the Kyiv city emblem of the Soviet era. Initially it was intended to place here figures of the legendary city founders Kyi, Schek, Khoriv and Lybid’ but this plan came to nought. The span supported by steel cables is 300 m. Next door, there is another 732-meter bridge over the Dnieper tributary Desenka. Architect Anatoly Dobrovolskyi and engineer Georgy Fux were awarded prizes from the Council of Ministers for this achievement.

North Bridge is an important traffic artery for Kyiv.

North Bridge is an important traffic artery for Kyiv, as it the shortest way to the densely populated Obolon’ and Troyeschyna neighborhoods along with Voskresenka. In the last decade, the bridge has been singled out by thrill-seeking climbers who cause a lot of trouble for operating officials. In February 2018, as part of an independent Ukraine’s move away from communist times, Moscow Bridge was renamed “North Bridge”.

Alexander Anisimov

This article was published in the book Interesting Kyiv.
You could download this book in PDF file for free here.

© Sky Horse Publishing House (Kyiv) / Nahs Haus, 2019
Copying and publication of this article is possible only with the written permission of the publishing house.
Official website of the Awesome Heritage series: awesomeheritage.com

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