Bolshoy Smolensky Bridge in Saint Petersburg‑St. Petersburg | JSC "Giprostroymost Institute — Saint Petersburg"

A new transport highway with a bridge over the Neva River in the alignment of Bolshoy Smolensky Ave. – Kollontai St. The plot from the ave. Obukhovskaya Oborona to the Far Eastern Avenue.

The exterior of the bridge with its light arched spans pays tribute to the historical St. Petersburg bridges, while not directly copying them, but ensures the continuity of the design of the drawbridges across the Neva River built earlier. To date, technological and constructive solutions for the Bolshoy Smolensky Bridge have been fully developed, and construction has begun.

Before the "Project" stage, JSC Giprostroymost Institute — Saint Petersburg completed a full range of engineering surveys that take into account the geological structure in the support areas, the current transport component, and the state of navigation on the river. Engineering and geodetic surveys have shown how well the street and road network is now developed and construction has been completed in this area.

During the development of the project, engineers of JSC Institute Giprostroymost — Saint Petersburg incorporated modern structural solutions, construction technologies and materials into it. We are talking about the use of all-welded box-shaped arch structures, minimizing the elements so that the facade is as transparent as possible. In addition, materials of supports and foundations were saved. Structural manufacturers and builders have all the technical capabilities to implement such a modern composite solution.

What is the uniqueness of

The new drawbridge of St. Petersburg across the Neva River, for the first time in more than 40 years.

Key elements of the bridge

Stationary superstructures are made in the form of an orthotropic plate combined in a joint work and a two-tiered system of steel arches and girths, rigidly pinched in channel supports and combined in a vault with an arched structure.

Box-shaped steel arches of variable rectangular cross-section, inclined at an angle of 20 °, and combined in pairs in the support zones on channel supports. This provides a lighter and visually permeable structure on the horizon line. The main arches are complemented by sprung arches as a replacement for the traditional rack-and-beam system, which, coupled with a thin slab, allows you to open the under-span space (usually cluttered with posts and braces) and make it light and visually permeable. This solution, due to its visual permeability, allows not only to preserve promising views of the architectural monument.

The Finnish railway bridge, but also forms a voluminous and dynamic spatial structure.

The classic adjustable support turned out to be too massive for the lightweight construction of the arches, so it was decided to move away from the classic examples and make it as thin and translucent as possible. Since the drawbars are massive in themselves, and the bridge is comparable in height to the neighboring Volodarsky and Al. Nevsky with their high massive supports, it was decided to take a progressive scheme with two open counterweight wells, placing the engine rooms in the center of the support and making the facade as light as possible. For this purpose, the walls of the facade of the supports, which protect technical and household premises and vertical communications, were tilted in two planes. This forms a single line with an open draw span, which looks spectacular at the time of wiring.

The transverse facade of the support is designed in the form of a wall inclined towards the drawbridge and three buttresses. The central buttress, behind which the engine rooms are located, in the upper part has a development in the form of protective ribs of the open area of hydraulic drives. This allows you to reduce the massiveness of the support, compared with the usually used vertical wall. At the same time, the counterweight wells are open towards the draw span, forming two openings, which increases the visual permeability of the support. The rear part of the supports was developed in the form of an inclined support of the arches of a stationary span with a radius of a movable support combined with the body above the high water level. This is dictated by the need to center the strut of the bridge arches relative to the movable support in order to minimize the deviation of the support from the design position over time.

The finishing of the bridge supports is implemented using textured formwork with imitation granite blocks. The decisions made make it possible to level out the massiveness of the movable supports, emphasize the slope of the arches and their rhythm due to the spectacular completion, while placing the entire set of elements required for modern movable mechanisms in the support.

The descent from the bridge is implemented in the form of two ramps and the main passage designed in the form of monolithic concrete spans supported by pillars and abutments, which continue in the form of monolithic retaining walls using textured formwork.

The pillars of the main course are united by an arched crossbar. On the approach to the ave. The Obukhov Defense superstructure type is being changed to steel-reinforced concrete. This decision is dictated by the difficulty of carrying out monolithic works on a busy highway and the desire to include the overpass in the surrounding historical environment of the former territories of the Nevsky Plant. The supports are made in the form of six inclined pillars connected in pairs by arched crossbars.

Landscaping of pedestrian zones has been designed at transport interchanges. Landscaping is provided on the lawns with ordinary planting of deciduous trees resistant to saline soils, complemented by shrubs and herbaceous plants.

The railings of the bridge and overpass are designed in the form of thin vertical pillars of curved shape with a pitch of 150 mm, connected by a handrail. The railing of the retaining walls and staircases is implemented in the form of a concrete parapet, repeating the curve of the railing of the overpasses.

The lanterns on the main course of the overpass are located on the sides of the superstructure, and the contact network is fixed on tripwires, which is associated with cramped conditions and the inability to implement a dividing strip along the axis of the overpass. The exit lights repeat the consoles of the fixtures on the main course of the overpass, but have a smaller diameter of the rack. The sidewalks are illuminated by park lights.

When designing, it was taken into account that the bridge would be urban, which imposes increased requirements on the architectural expressiveness of the structure.

Together, all these solutions are not only unique, having no analogues in the global bridge construction practice, but also allow us to form a new dominant for this rapidly developing area of the city.