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| PHÎÒÎ: SHUTTERSTOCK |
The first welded bridge in the world bearing the name of the renowned academician Yevhen Paton became a part of the panorama of Kyiv in 1953. Though every day thousands of motorists drive across this bridge, very few know the turbulent history of its construction and even less know that there were three bridges in Kyiv named after Paton
Chains and love
At the start of the 20th century, a set of postcards with the words “Greetings from Kyiv” had photos of the Nicholas Chain Bridge built in the years 1848-1853 by the English inventor of train rails Charles Blacker Vignoles. The first major bridge across the Dnipro River was named after the Russian tsar, but in real life it did not look as majestic as it did on postcards. During the construction of the bridge, workers bent one of the pylons supporting the chain on which the bridge was suspended, which resulted in a crack that formed in the masonry of the pillars. The split-section was replaced with an ordinary one due to the constantly changing navigable channel of the Dnipro, so it turned out to be unnecessary. When a diesel streetcar was launched in 1912 on a route crossing the bridge linking Kyiv with Darnytsya and Brovary, the city authorities were seriously concerned about the resistance of its design. The sidings of the bridge piers were changed and the empty spaces were filled with concrete only in 1913. At the end of 1920, the bridge was blown up by the Poles retreating from Kyiv under the pressure of the Red Army. Actually, they blew up only one of its passages. But in 1921, the Recovery Detachment of the National Commissariat informed that it decided not to worry about its reconstruction and blew up the rest of the bridge.
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| Paton first learned about electric arc welding technology in 1928, when he was working on the reconstruction of a small bridge PHÎÒÎ: UNIAN |
Celebration for the Left Bank
The construction of a new bridge on the old piers was assigned to Kyiv’s main expert on bridge engineering Yevhen Paton, who at that time was a professor of the Kyiv Technical University and did not master the welding science at that time. This was the second bridge project Kyiv headed by Paton. The first bridge designed by Paton in accordance with the old technology has survived to this very day. This is the so-called Bridge of Love (a graceful arch connecting two cliffs over Parkova Alley, then known as Petrovska Allley.
The new bridge named after the fiery revolutionary and first president of the People´s Commissars of USSR Yevgenia Bosh was opened on May 10, 1925. It was a true celebration for the city, as the tram line to the Left Bank was reopened. Two dozen settlements, including Old and New Darnytsya became part of Kyiv.
In 1930s, the new settlements Poznyaky, Osokorky and several others were added to the map of Kyiv. New bridges were designed and built due to the opening of the new wagon repair and linen plants.
On September 10, 1920, the Darnytskiy Railway Bridge was opened. On March 22 next year, the wooden Navodnytskiy Bridge and later the Rusanivskiy and the renovated Southern Railway Bridge were unveiled. In 1940, the construction of a big bridge across the Dnipro River began next to the Navodnytskiy Bridge. The project was named the Kyiv City Bridge.
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| PHÎÒÎ: UNIAN |
Party doubts
Paton first learned about electric arc welding technology in 1928, when he was working on the reconstruction of a small bridge. The experienced scientist wanted to reconcile what then seemed to be irreconcilable - bridge engineering and welding. When it came to bridge engineering, Paton had no equals. As for electro-welding, the engineer faced quite a challenge as many bridges constructed based on this technology have simply collapsed.
The team of young engineers that Paton handpicked spent months in his workshop developing new welding fluxes and experimenting with metal and machinery. In 1929, Paton established the Electric Laboratory in Kyiv, which in 1934 became the Electric Welding Institute under the Academy of Sciences. His team came up with a solution critical for the defense industry. Metal welding allowed doing away with rivets used on armored vehicles, in military shipbuilding and the construction of submarines. Alongside the team did a comparative study of similar riveted and welded span structures (bridges, overpasses, factory shops, rolling mills) and realized that welding technology was much easier.
But nobody in the party leadership of Ukraine believed that a welded bridge across the Dnipro River would hold up. "Comrades, this is a 1,543-meter bridge that is longer than Khreschatyk, 27 meters wide and is made of 10,000 tonnes of metal!", Paton’s opponents argued.
Then First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine Nikita Khrushchev intervened to introduce the new technologies of bridge engineering and in 1941 the construction of the new bridge was launched with his support. Unfortunately, World War II broke out.
On September 19, 1941, Soviet troops blew up the Bosh Bridge while retreating from Kyiv. In October 1943, the Germans blew up the pylons of the future Paton Bridge. After the war, everything had to begin anew in all senses, as the Railway Administration banned the welding of bridges.
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| PHÎÒÎ: UNIAN |
Paton’s heritage
The 80-year old academician had to defend his bridge project again and defend his case at meetings of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine. And he succeeded. The revolutionary essence of his bridge technology was not understood for many years after many years that automobiles travelled across his bridge. The American Welding Association only recognized the Paton Bridge as an outstanding achievement in 1995.
All works on the bridge were completed in June 1953. When in the fall of that same year a column of T34 tanks was sent across the bridge to test the bridge’s durability, Paton passed away on August 12, 1953. The opening ceremony of his bridge was held only in November.
Until June 9, 2004, a tram transported passengers across the bridge. Today, more than 145,000 thousand cars cross the bridge to downtown Kyiv.
Interesting
The Guinness Book of World Records lists the 4-km long Pearl Bridge connecting the Japanese islands of Honshu and Awaji the longest bridge in the world. It is famous for surviving many storms and earthquakes.
The King Fadhil Bridge, which is a set of bridges and dams linking the city of Khobar in Saudi Arabia with the island country of Bahrain, is 25 km long.
The Tower Bridge in London opened in 1894 is a symbol of Great Britain and the largest drawbridge in the world.
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is 1,280 m in length. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. In 1965, the Verrazano Bridge in New York became the largest. The 1,298-meter long Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most popular suicide sites in the world. Since it opened, more than 1,200 people jumped do their death from this bridge.
The highest and longest bridge in Europe is Millau in France. It is 300 meters high and 2.5 km long.
In the Straits of Messina there are plans to build a bridge with a central span length of 3,300 meters connecting Italy and Sicilia.
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