Spans of up to 18 metres long cover up to 80% of the need for bridges on roads of categories II–V. According to the estimates of the Aluminium Association, the market comprised of bridges in a bad state of repair in Russia alone is about 8.5 thousand tonnes. Taking into account the annual deterioration of existing bridges, the capacity of this market will continue to increase.

The working group created by the Aluminium Association to develop a standard design will include three Russian companies and one foreign one. Currently, the Association, together with the Ministry of Transport of Russia and the Ministry of Transport of the Kamchatka Territory, is working to justify funding for the construction of the first aluminium road bridge in Russia with a total length of more than 650 m. The designing of this facility is scheduled for 2019–2020 and construction for 2021–2023.

The experience of foreign bridge-building companies will be taken into account when developing a standard design. In particular, the working group will explore the possibility of using 6xxx series extrusion alloys, which are popular in foreign bridge building, instead of the 7xxx series 1915 alloy traditionally used in Russia.

The presence of an approved standard design for aluminium spans will reduce the cost of designing bridge structures for roads. Design organisations will be able to reduce personnel costs since using standard solutions eliminates the need to engage specialists who require experience in individual design.

A significant factor in reducing the cost of spans will be the ready-made production process incorporated in the standard design. In addition, the standard design will create an algorithm for calculating the cost efficiency of using aluminium spans in specific regions and taking the logistics and life cycle of structures into account.

Participation of Russian and foreign specialists in the design development, including representatives of the leading international bridge building company PML, will make it possible to create structures that meet advanced international requirements and take the specifics of bridge building and operation in Russia into account.

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