Bolshoy Ustinsky Bridge (russian: Большой Устьинский мост) is a steel

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. A viaduct ...

that spans

Moskva River The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...

near the mouth of

Yauza River The Yauza (russian: Я́уза) is a river in Moscow and Mytishchi, Russia, a tributary of the Moskva. It originates in the Losiny Ostrov National Park northeast of Moscow, flows through Mytishchi, enters Moscow in the Medvedkovo District and f ...

, connecting the

Boulevard Ring The Boulevard Ring (russian: Бульва́рное кольцо́; transliteration: ''Bulvarnoye Koltso'') is Moscow's second innermost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod ...

with

Zamoskvorechye Zamoskvorechye District (russian: райо́н Замоскворе́чье) is a administrative divisions of Moscow, district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: The di ...

district in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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 ...

. It was completed in May 1938 by V.M.Vakhurkin (

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

), 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 (russian: Водоотводный канал, "water bypass canal") is a 4 kilometre long, 30-60 metre wide canal in downtown Moscow, Russia. It was built in the 1780s on the old riverbed of the Moskva River to control floods a ...

: Maly Ustinsky Bridge, Astakhovsky (Yauzsky) Bridge, Komissariatsky Bridge, also described on this page.

History

The first Ustinsky Bridge across Moskva River was built in 1881, to a very common triple-span arch design by V.N.Speyer.''Bridges of Moscow'', p.84 Three spans were 39.5, 44.5 and 39.5 meters long and 19.2 meters wide (4 lanes, including two

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

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 the 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 The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, city planners intended to complete the

with a link through

. This called for 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 Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

buildings near Tretyakovskaya 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 deck An orthotropic bridge or orthotropic deck is typically one whose fabricated deck consists of a structural steel deck plate stiffened either longitudinally with ribs or transversely, or in both directions. This allows the fabricated deck both t ...

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

traffic (routes A, 3, 39 – the last and only tram line inside

Garden Ring The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring (russian: Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration: ''Sadovoye Koltso''), is a circular ring road Avenue (landscape), avenue around central Moscow, its course correspondin ...

). 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)

The first, wooden Komissariatsky Bridge (Комиссариатский мост) across Vodootvodny Canal existed since the 1850s, in line with Komissariatsky Lane. It was named after the nearby

New Kriegskomissariat New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, 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.''Bridges of Moscow'', p.88

Maly Ustinsky Bridge (1938)

Spans right over the mouth of Yauza, continuing

Moskvoretskaya Embankment Moskvoretskaya Embankment (russian: Москворецкая Набережная) is a major street, located in the Kitay-Gorod administrative district in central Moscow, running along the Moskva River. It stretches from Kremlin Embankment, ne ...

into westward

Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Kotelnicheskaya Embankment (russian: Котельническая набережная) 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 (west) to the point on ...

. 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.''Encyclopedia of Moscow'', Moscow, 1997

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.

References