On November 3, 1966, a significant event happened in the city of Yaroslavl - a bridge was opened across the Volga River. It was supposed to serve as a crossing that connects the October Square of Leninsky and Kirovsky districts with Urochskaya Street, Zavolzhsky District.
From the history
The history of the October Bridge originates in the distant 60s, when the bridge became the first of its kind. He served as a ferry for road transport through the Volga in Yaroslavl. Until that moment there was a bridge built in 1913, which carried out rail transportation.
This bridge was not intended for passengers, and people crossed from one coast to another exclusively by ferry. Such a crossing, of course, could not suit anyone. For several decades, bridges were built across the Volga, but they could not carry out a high-quality crossing for the booming road transport.
And build a bridge
Only 50 years later, local authorities began to decide how to carry people and cars from one bank of the city to the other. The local crossing could not provide the necessary traffic flow and was not safe enough.
Talented Designer
The project was developed by a talented Soviet bridge architect and engineer Yevgeny Sergeevich Ulanov. He was also known for being the brother of the world-famous ballerina Galina Ulanova.
And chose a location
The location for the location of the bridge was not chosen by chance. From the central part in the XII-XV centuries there was the Peter and Paul Monastery, and already in the XVII century - a temple in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul. In the early 30s, this monument was destroyed. This place - two kilometers north of the junction of the Kotorosl and Volga rivers, it became the point of construction of a new bridge.
Start of construction
Various media sources of those years indicate that the grandiose construction began at the end of 1964. The technology developed by the engineers was truly unique: reinforced concrete parts that were fastened with special synthetic glue and cables.
Under control
The construction was carried out under the control of the Moscow Giprotransmost Institute by the method of a mounted and balanced bridge. The new technique allowed to finish the work incredibly quickly and efficiently.
They called it October
For 2 years, the construction of a new crossing was carried out, and on November 3, 1966, the opening ceremony was held. The name Oktyabrsky Bridge received on the 49th anniversary of the Great Revolution of the 17th year in honor of the approaching 50th anniversary of this event.
The October bridge gave a start to the rapid development of new areas of the city, especially Zavolzhsky. It also became a direct access to the capital for vehicles.
Difficult 2000s
For half a century of history, the Oktyabrsky Bridge has been overhauled 4 times. There were also all sorts of attacks by vandals, after which repairs or cleaning were required.
The last repair of the crossing was carried out in 2013-2014. An asphalt pavement survived the repair, which was deformed over time, supports, lighting, railings and some other structural elements of the bridge were replaced. The repair was carried out in two stages: first, barriers were installed that allowed only public transport and cars for public services to pass through, then another line was opened for the passage of personal cars.
Bridge test
The main strength test of the bridge was held on August 21, 2014 from one in the morning until five in the morning. The movement at this time was completely blocked. In tests, the bridge withstood a load of hundreds of tons, as required by technical regulations. Final repairs were completed on August 30, 2014.
Bridge Status Today
In the first half of 2018, public activists began to note another deterioration in the quality of the road surface of the bridge. Although the warranty has not yet passed from the last repair. The designers say that the reason that the bridge begins to crumble again is a sharply increased load of transport towards the Zavolzhsky District, which for a short time is actively developing and is overgrown with new houses.
