29.11.2023 

The Bridge Day is November 29. On this day, we greet everyone involved in the construction of footbridges, cable-stayed, road and other types of bridges. Architects, designers, engineers, welders, crane operators and other professionals all contribute to bridge construction.

In recent years, the aluminium industry has contributed heavily to bridge construction. Since 2017, high-tech bridges have been constructed in the Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Tula, Ryazan regions, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and Moscow. Currently, 63 bridges are under construction, including international footbridge projects welcomed due to their unique sustainability. Bridges made from aluminium alloys are characterised by high strength (comparable to steel), lightness, corrosion resistance and a long lifespan of over 50 years. In operation, such bridges are more cost-efficient than their competitors. Thanks to their low weight, they are quickly installed.

"A significant advantage of aluminium alloys is their environmental friendliness. Such structures are fully recycled at the end of their service life. This also gives economic benefits: once the structures have reached the end of their service life, they can be recycled, offsetting some of the initial costs. The product does not require any special maintenance or painting during its life cycle”, notes Evgeny Vasiliev, Vice Chairperson of the Aluminium Association and head of Transport Infrastructure.

For a long time in our country, the only aluminium structure of this kind was the Kolomna footbridge in St. Petersburg, built in 1969. Only in 2017, new aluminium footbridges were constructed in Nizhny Novgorod. Currently, there are three aluminium footbridges in Moscow, one in Tula and Samara each, and seven in Krasnoyarsk. Another structure made from aluminium was unveiled this year in Bor, Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Aluminium bridge construction in Russia is progressing steadily and diversely. For instance, this year saw the inauguration of Russia’s first aluminium railway overpass. The overpass spanning 151 metres was erected in Krasnoyarsk over the Trans-Siberian Railway and Semaphore Street. Other regions are following suit: similar structures are to be built in the Tula Region and Novokuznetsk. For railways, the primary advantage of such projects is that the construction does not disrupt train traffic.

A new application of aluminium is turnkey-ready, off-the-shelf bridges. The standard solutions developed by the Aluminium Association’s project team can significantly accelerate the construction/retrofitting of bridges over minor water obstacles. A pre-fabricated structure is delivered to the site. Just one crane and a few workers are needed to lift and install it. Moreover, off-the-shelf bridges can be transported, assembled, and erected even in dense urban environments. This is an ideal solution for municipalities, considering the large number of bridges that require reconstruction.