The bridge was officially opened January 12, 1959. Total length with ramps 1,179 meters, arch spans 45 - 108 – 45 meters. The upper deck, 25.8 meters wide, carried 6 lanes of traffic, the lower deck housed Vorobyovy Gory metro station. The bridge was completed in 19 months.[1] The bridge builders used salt to speed up concrete hydration; in 1959, it was commissioned with incomplete moisture protection.[2] This caused rapid corrosion of rebars and tension cables.
Decay (1958–1997)
On July 8, 1959, rain water broke through the station hall roofing and flooded the tracks. In the following years, aluminium and steel parts of the station hall started falling apart, hiding far worse corrosion processes inside the concrete structure. As early as 1963, examinations signalled imminent danger.[2] By 1983, the bridge had lost 60% of its structural load capacity. In 1983, the station was closed, in 1986-87 the subway tracks diverted to temporary steel box girder bridges (29 meters left and 29 meters right from the main bridge axis).
Reconstruction (1997–2002)
Reconstruction began with the demolition of the station hall, opening access to the main arches. The inner arches remained standing; their concrete bowstring was replaced with a steel tie. Once the arch was reinforced, in 1999, the builders demolished the automobile road deck and the columns that carried it. The new concrete deck was commissioned for automobile traffic in 2000. In July–August 2001, subway traffic returned to the main bridge tracks, the temporary bridges were removed; the restored subway station reopened on December 14, 2002.[3]
^Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр. 153 (Bridges of Moscow, 2004, p.153) ISBN5-9533-0183-9; other sources name 15 months. The authors of Bridges of Moscow, then college students, worked at the construction site as trainees, 1957-1958.
