Saratower Railway Bridge
Coordinates: 51 ° 24 ′ 44 ″ N , 45 ° 58 ′ 44 ″ E
| Saratower Railway Bridge | ||
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| Crossing of | Volga | |
| place | Saratov - angel | |
| construction | Steel truss bridge | |
| overall length | 1700 m | |
| Number of openings | 16 | |
| Pillar spacing | 190 m | |
| start of building | 1930 | |
| completion | 1935 | |
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The Saratov railway bridge leads across the Volga in the urban area of Saratov .
description
The approximately 1700 m long bridge is located near the village of Ukek south of Saratov at the end of an approximately 800 m long dam in the river bed. On the other bank, an approximately 3,130 m long dam leads to the town of Priwolschski and the nearby Anisowka train station south of Engels .
The steel truss bridge crosses the Volga with 16 openings with pillar spacing of 3 × 66 + 160 + 130 + 190 + 130 + 190 + 130 + 160 + 6 × 67 m. The bridge itself is single-track, but already on the access dams the line becomes double-track again.
history
Since around 1900 , the Ryazan-Ural Railway Company (Рязанско-Уральская железная дороги) sought state funding and funds from the city of Saratov to build a railway bridge to connect their lines on both sides of the Volga. However, there was a dispute about the most favorable location for the bridge, close to the city or at the narrowest point of the Volga about 14 km downstream south of the village of Ukek (now part of the urban area). In the meantime, other variants were considered, so that the project was repeatedly delayed.
On March 25, 1917, the Provisional Government finally confirmed the project of a two-level rail and road bridge near the city center. But as early as July 1917, a commission found that building two bridges - a road bridge near the city and a railway bridge downstream - would be cheaper. The October Revolution and the Russian Civil War initially made implementation impossible again before, after further variants had been discussed - various tunnel variants were also proposed - the preparatory work for the construction of a downstream railway bridge finally began in 1926. The actual construction began in 1930, and on May 17, 1935 the 1700 m long bridge was opened to traffic.
The construction of the bridge was long and difficult. The completion date of February 15, 1934 could not be kept.
The newspaper “Саратовский рабочий” # 12 (436) of January 12, 1934 reported on organizational deficiencies in the construction of the bridge and the failure of deadlines for the assembly of the trusses. According to the newspaper, the company "Стальмост" was commissioned with the construction. Due to the unsatisfactory construction progress, the company management was changed in August 1933.
On April 13, 1934, a great disaster happened. During the assembly of the bridge girders, deformations occurred and the bridge literally collapsed. The accident happened around lunchtime and most of the workers ate directly at work to save time. All were thrown into the Volga. By falling from a height of 14 m, the workers' bodies broke through the ice that was still present here and there, which made swimming extremely difficult but could not bear the weight of the workers who tried to save themselves on the ice floes. About 150 people drowned, exact numbers cannot be found in the archives. The official agencies and newspapers of the time are silent.
With the completion of the bridge, the railway ferry line operated by the Ryazan Ural Railway Company since 1896 also ceased its traffic.
See also
Web links
- Construction of a bridge over the Volga near Saratov. In: Moscow-Saratov line with branches. Description of the stations and their surroundings. (soot.)