Bolshoy Krasnokholmsky Bridge is a steel arch bridge

Arch bridge

An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...

 that spans Moskva River

Moskva River

The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...

 in downtown Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, carrying Garden Ring

Garden Ring

The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring , is a circular avenue around the central Moscow, its course corresponding to what used to be the city ramparts surrounding Zemlyanoy Gorod in the 17th century....

 between Tagansky District and Zamoskvorechye Districts. It was completed in 1938 by V.M.Vakhurkin (structural engineering

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....

), G.P.Golts and D.M.Sobolev (architectural design). Its main span is the widest arch span in Moscow (168 meters) .

History

Wooden causeway bridges on this site were common since 18th century; 1853 plan shows a wooden bridge on site slightly to the south of current site and at a different angle. Originally, Vodootvodny Canal

Vodootvodny Canal

Vodootvodny Canal is a 4 kilometre long, 30-60 metre wide canal in downtown Moscow, Russia. It was built in 1780s on the old riverbed of Moskva River to control floods and support shipping. Canal construction created an island between Moskva river and the canal. The island acquired its present...

 has a second bypass canal, cutting off the south-eastern tip of The Island

Balchug

Balchug , also known as Bolotny Ostrov , is an island in the very centre of Moscow, Russia, squeezed between the Moskva River and its old river-bed which was turned into the Vodootvodny Canal in 1786...

. It was located rougnly 100 meters south from the centerline of present-day Garden Ring, spanned by one or two wooden bridges. All bridges, past and present, were built to the north of this bypass canal.

The first permanent Krasnoholmsky Bridge across Moskva River was built in 1872, by the Struwe brothers; Amand Struwe was lead engineer and financial promoter. The bridge consisted of two rectangular lattice trusses (a mixed truss and girder type), each 65.5 meters long, with a single main pillar in the middle. Usable deck had 15.0 meters wide roadway with timber paving plus two 2.14 meter wide foot walkways. Tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 tracks were laid later; a 1910 plan denotes tham as horse-tram service, 1916 plan - as electrical tram . Struwe, like his predecessors, built his bridge at nearly right angle to river flow - with an unnecessary kink in the path of Garden Ring.

Bolshoy Krasnokholmsky Bridge (1938)

The new bridge was designed to eliminate this kink, so the bridge-to-river angle is 55 degrees. Initially, planners considered a cable-stayed scheme, but a combination of cable scheme and a sharp angle seemed too risky, so they reverted to conventional arch design. Main span consists of seven sickle-shaped steel arches, each 168 meters long and 10.68 meters high. They are made of SDS steel (Специальная Дворца Советов, Palace of Soviets

Palace of Soviets

The Palace of the Soviets was a project to construct an administrative center and a congress hall in Moscow, Russia, near the Kremlin, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour...

 Special). Total steel consumption for the main span (with deck) is 6000 metric tons, or 890 kilograms per square meter of deck.

Shoreside pylons, finished in granite slabs, are based on four concrete caisson

Caisson (engineering)

In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...

foundations (each 35.6 by 15.0 meters) reaching the solid limestone slab which is 11.5-13.0 meters deep at this point. Total length of bridge, with concrete approach ramps, is 725.5 meters, width 40.0 meters (8 traffic lanes, which originally included two tram tracks) .

In 2005–2007, the bridge went through a major overhaul. Deck and approach ramps (excluding their side walls) were torn apart and replaced. Visually, bridge retained all original structural details.