Railway Bridge over the Volga River was opened in Simbirsk

On October 5 (18) 1916 in Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk) was solemnly opened what was then considered to be the largest railway bridge in Europe over the Volga River, which played an important role in the economic development of Simbirsk province.

The issue concerning building of a railway bridge over the Volga River arose in late 19th c. when a railroad was laid in Simbirsk. Until then the goods were unloaded from wagons, and then either on ice in winter or by barges in summer were transported to the next station and again were loaded into wagons. The decision on construction of the railway bridge over the Volga River was taken by P.A. Stolypin during his visit on September 11 (24) 1910, when sailing along the Volga he stopped for a few hours in Simbirsk. The discussion of this question brought together Prince Dolgorukiy - the chairman of the board of Volga-Bugulma railway, Simbirsk merchants and honorary citizens, who proved the Minister the necessity and importance of the bridge construction for the town’s economy.

The construction works of the bridge were launched in spring 1913. The project’s author became Russian engineer and scientist in building mechanics and bridge construction Nikolai Apollonovich Belelyubskiy, who earlier had built about 100 bridges in Russia, including a number of major metal railway bridges over the Volga River, Dnieper, Ob, Belaya River, and the Inhulets etc.

Steel constructions for building of the railway bridge were produced at the Hughes (Yuzovsky) plant (Donetsk, Ukraine) and assembled on site. Granite for piers facing was delivered from the Urals, rubble stone was quarried in Simbirsk province. For the first time in the world practice spans were produced from hammered iron. The bridge’s construction made use of the best technique: overhead cranes, caissons for underwater operations. The work was carried out the whole year round, and did not stop even in winter. The building was impeded by a fire which happened on the bridge on July 7 1914 and a landslide of the Simbirsk Mountain on May 29-31 1915. The landslide destroyed eight already built arcade’s piers, the railway, a part of the railway station by the Volga, many houses and various buildings.

In October 1916 all construction works were completed, a gigantic bridge was built meeting tight deadline within just two and a half years. During the construction of the bridge not a single person perished.

Official opening of the bridge and temporary freight traffic kicked off on October 5 (18) 1916. “The local churches’ priests headed by the Bishop Nikandr of Simbirsk and Syzran conducted a prayer service and consecrated the bridge. The Governor of Simbirks A.S. Klyucharev and the town head L.I. Afanasiev expressed gratitude to all who took the decision to build the bridge and the bridge’s builders”.

At the beginning the bridge was given the name of “His Imperial Majesty Nicholas II”, whereas in 1917 it was renamed the Bridge of Freedom.

In view of the appearance of the Kuybushev reservoir in 1953-1958 the bridge’s piers were broadened. The whole reconstruction of the bridge was carried out without stopping train operation.

Lit.: Мост на века // Деловое обозрение. Окт. 2007. №10 (117); Пунин А. Л. Архитектура отечественных мостов. Л., 1982; Саблина Ю. История одного моста. М., 2007.