The Polotsk overpass has opened in Vitebsk after reconstruction. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko took part in the ceremony
"The hardest times of suffering in Vitebsk are over. I can imagine what a disaster it was for the city when this overpass was not there, but there was an old one. But what a problem and disaster it was when this old overpass was closed for a year and a half, maybe a little more, and the construction of this interchange began. You must agree that Vitebsk could not exist without this miracle structure. And it would have gotten worse and worse," said Alexander Lukashenko.
According to the President, he can hardly believe that the overpass was reconstructed in such a short period of time. "Thanks to you, the renovation of the Polotsk overpass was completed several months ahead of schedule. It is very important that we are opening this facility for our Slavianski Bazaar: guests will arrive and see a modern, beautiful city," the head of state said. - It turned out to be a very modern and convenient interchange. This is a monument for centuries that we are leaving to our Slavic city. This is a crucial road, and we have built it."
The reconstruction of the Polotsk overpass cost less than the planned amount. The remaining funds will be directed towards the further development of Vitebsk's road transport infrastructure. "Some money was saved here, and the governor immediately grabbed it and said, 'Leave it to us for Gagarin Street.' Therefore, we need to put this street in order. We will, of course, leave the saved money to you," promised the head of state. As previously reported to the President, the length of Gagarin Street in Vitebsk is 5 km, and the remaining work requires Br39 million.
The Polotsk overpass was built at the end of the 19th century and is one of Vitebsk's most important transport arteries. It is located at the confluence of Kosmonavtov, Titov, and Leningradskaya streets and not only connects different districts of the city but also serves as a continuation of republican roads leading to Polotsk and further to Russia and Latvia.
The overpass was last reconstructed in 1958. Over time, its structures began to deteriorate, and construction and installation work began here in June 2011. Due to a lack of funding, it had to be stopped in 2015. Three years later, the bridge was inspected again, and it was concluded that it was in an emergency condition.
In November 2018, traffic for vehicles and pedestrians over the overpass was stopped. Considering the inconvenience associated with the closure of traffic (4 tram routes and 15 bus routes passed through here, with 110 minibuses running daily), work on the facility was organized in two shifts, involving 400 builders and more than 70 units of equipment. Initially, slightly over four years were allocated for the reconstruction of the bridge, but then the deadlines were shortened, and the work was planned to be completed by 2021. As a result, the builders were ahead of schedule, completing the work in actually 20 months.
The construction work cost Br89 million, including credit resources of Br68 million (initially, the Development Bank of Belarus allocated Br100 million for the reconstruction). The updated overpass is a bridge structure 45 m wide, 7.6 m high, and 412 m long. Tram tracks were laid here using a non-standard method – with the use of a trackless structure by bonding rails in metal boxes into prefabricated monolithic sections of the reinforced concrete tram track. At the same time, the rails are laid on rubber pads in continuous welded rails, which reduces the number of joints and lowers the noise and vibration from train movement.