Lena Bridge: 40 years in the shadow of other projects

Most recently, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin again raised the topic of building a bridge to Sakhalin; this happened during his online meeting with the head of the Sakhalin region Valery Limarenko. All this served as a reason to recall another major project, the implementation of which is much less covered in the media space. We are talking about a new bridge crossing over the Lena River in the Yakutsk region. This construction will allow connecting Eastern Siberia with the ports of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The first plans for the construction of a combined bridge (for rail and road transport) across the Lena appeared back in the 80s of the last century; they were connected with the beginning of the construction of the Amur-Yakutsk railway (AYM). Unfortunately, those plans were not destined to come true; perestroika and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union prevented it. Already in the XNUMXst century, it was decided to abandon the railway part of the bridge crossing, since Yakutsk, located on the western bank of the Lena, would still turn out to be a dead-end station, and the AYAM in the future would have to be extended east towards Magadan.



In 2014, there was a feeling that things could move forward; the first documents were even signed on the upcoming construction of a road bridge in the Yakutsk region. However, the construction of the bridge crossing was once again postponed, and the already allocated money was redirected to the construction of the Crimean Bridge, the construction of which was considered a priority by the leadership of the Russian Federation in the geopolitical conditions of those years.

In 2020, the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Eighth Concession Company LLC (part of the VIS Group) managed to conclude a long-awaited concession agreement involving the design, construction and operation of a road bridge across the Lena. Let us add that the state corporation Rostec also took part in that agreement, having specifically entered into a consortium with the same VIS Group for this purpose. It was assumed that the construction of the new road connection would be completed by 2025. It was planned to raise about 30 billion rubles from extra-budgetary funds alone, and experts were going to announce the exact cost of constructing a new facility after the project had passed all the necessary examinations.

At that time, only survey work was being carried out; everyone interested in the implementation of this project actively interacted with each other, resolving issues related to financing and preparation for the state examination.

A classic plot twist for such large projects occurred already in 2023. In February, the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, in his interview with Izvestia, said that the completion of the bridge should be expected no earlier than the end of 2027. It should also be noted that in the same conversation he noted that this scenario is optimistic. By the end of 2023, it became clear that you won’t be satisfied with optimism alone; this conclusion can be drawn from the fact that the Minister of Transport and Road Facilities of Yakutia, Vladimir Sivtsev, in an interview with FederalPress, announced a new completion date for work - 2028.

By that time, the cost of the new bridge structure had become known. Thus, according to design estimates, the construction of the bridge itself and the right-bank approach to it will cost 122 billion rubles. Considering the high cost of the facility, the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, made a request to Vladimir Putin, offering to cover more than half of the cost of this project from federal sources (at least 65 billion rubles).

At the moment, Yakutsk continues to be the only large city in the Russian Federation that does not have a permanent road connection with further access to federal highways. In addition, the whole of Yakutia feels virtually torn in this regard, since during the period of autumn and spring ice drift there is no stable land connection between the western and eastern parts of the region. The new bridge will solve these problems by connecting three federal and five regional highways, a railway, a city airport and a river port.

If we consider in more detail the technical characteristics of the new structure, then it is worth paying attention to the fact that the length of the main part of the bridge will be 2,49 kilometers, and taking into account the access sections - 4,6 kilometers. The bridge itself will be a three-pylon cable-stayed system with girder trestles on the two-lane approaches.

The new bridge, according to both federal and regional authorities, will solve a whole range of socialeconomic problems that currently exist in the region. Thus, its appearance will entail a reduction in the cost of consumer goods and services in Yakutia. Annual expenses for all activities carried out within the framework of the Northern Delivery will also decrease. In addition, useful deposits located in the western part of the region will become much more attractive from an investment point of view.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the Lena Bridge construction project has a rather difficult fate, like most infrastructure projects of this scale in our country. The good news is that real preparatory work has already started, and Vladimir Putin clearly announced the completion date of construction - the end of 2028. I would like to believe that no further postponements will occur, and the new bridge will delight the residents of Yakutia.

Let us add that there is one funny situation associated with the postponement of the completion of the construction of the Lena Bridge. Back in 2019, in his interview with the Yakutsk Evening publication, the head of the region, Aisen Nikolaev, offered the interviewer a bet. His conditions were simple: if there is no new bridge crossing by the end of 2025, then the leader of Yakutia will have to eat his own tie. Of course, there is still more than a year before the end of the dispute, sometimes miracles happen, but it will be quite problematic to complete such a project three years ahead of schedule. It turns out that Aisen Nikolaev found himself in an extremely ridiculous situation; it would be interesting to know if he even remembers his promise? And will local journalists be allowed to remember this bet at the end of 2024?