Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge is a concrete arch bridge that spans Moscow Canal between Tushino and Shchukino Districts in northwestern Moscow, Russia. The bridge does not have an official name and is sometimes styled as Railroad bridge over Moscow Canal. It was completed in 1936, designed by A.S.Bachelis.^[1][2]

[edit] History and specifications

Construction of Moscow Canal (1932-1938) required building a new railroad bridge on a track running over the lower chamber of Lock No.8., near Shchukino village, which at this time was far out of city limits. Tram service to Shchukino was built soon afterwards (1938),^[3] urban development began in 1960s.

The bridge is 200.8 meter long, 20.0 meters high. Main span is 120 meters long, 17.5 meters high, a simple Mayard box profile with 4.1 meter span between side walls (equals distance between track centers). Upper and lower walls of the box are 9.5 and 8.06 meters wide. Inside, the arch box has diaphragm braces (0.3 meters thick, 4.1 meters spacing) with corresponding vertical beams on the outer wall. Arch stands on concrete foundations (34.3 by 19.2 meters each), supported by 992 wooden piles each. Upper deck rests on concrete girders (one for each track), 3.5 meter high, width varied from 0.5 to 0.7 meters.

This bold bridge has become an icon of pre-WWII soviet propaganda, including a postage stamp (January 1941) and movie appearances. According to most recent studies (1990^[4]), the bridge is structurally safe and sound, although it's unpainted concrete may look rusty at close inspection.

[edit] See also

• List of bridges in Moscow

[edit] References