Luzhniki Metro Bridge

Luzhniki Metro Bridge ("Russian: Лужнецкий метромост"), also known as Metromost ("Метромост"), is a concrete two-level arch bridge carrying road and subway over Moskva River in Moscow, Russia, connecting city center with Sparrow Hills. The bridge houses Vorobyovy Gory, the only station of Moscow Metro located above water. Originally built in 1958 by V.G. Andreyev and N.N. Rudomasin (structural engineering), the bridge rapidly decayed and was rebuilt in 1997-2002.

Metro Bridge (1958)

The bridge was officially opened January 12, 1959. Total length witn ramps 1179 meters, arch spans 45 - 108 - 45 meters. Upper deck, 25.8 meters wide, carried 6 lanes of traffic, lower deck housed Vorobyovy Gory metro station. The bridge was completed in 19 months [Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр. 153 ("Bridges of Moscow", 2004, p.153) ISBN 5-9533-0183-9; other sources name 15 months. Authors of "Bridges of Moscow", then college students, worked at the construction site as trainees, 1957-1958.] . Bridge builders used salt to speed up concrete hydration; in 1959, it was commissioned with incomplete moisture protection ["Bridges of Moscow", 2004, p.155] . This caused rapid corrosion of rebar and tension cables.

Decay (1958-1997)

July 8, 1959, rain water broke through the station hall roofing and flooded the tracks. In the next years, aluminum and steel parts of station hall were falling apart, hiding far worse corrosion processes in concrete structure. As soon as 1963, examinations signalled "imminent danger" ["Bridges of Moscow", 2004, p.155] . By 1983, the bridge lost 60% of its structural load capacity. In 1983, the station was closed, in 1986-87 subway tracks diverted to temporary steel box girder bridges (29 meters left and 29 meters right from main bridge axis).

Reconstruction (1997-2002)

Reconstruction began with demolition of station hall, opening access to main arches. Inner arches remained standing; their concrete bowstring was replaced with a steel tie. Once the arch was reinforced, in 1999, the builders demolished automobile road deck and the columns that carried her. New concrete deck was commissioned for automobile traffic in 2000. In July-August 2001, subway traffic returned to main bridge tracks, temporary bridges removed; restored subway station reopened December 14, 2002 [ [http://metro.molot.ru/st_vg.shtml metro.molot.ru] ] .

References

External links

*Russian: Photo gallery [http://metromost.com/alb/011.htm www.metromost.com]
*Russian: Images of construction and reconstruction [http://metro.molot.ru/st_vg.shtml metro.molot.ru]

ee also

*List of bridges in Moscow