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PM unveils bridge across Eastern Bosphorus in Vladivostok

The new bridge across the strait is one of the biggest cable-stayed bridges in the world
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, July 2 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is visiting Russia’s Far East, unveiled on Monday the new bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait (Bosfor Vostochny), connecting mainland Vladivostok and Russky Island.

The bridge will ensure all-season transport communication as well as creates preconditions for city’s expansion south.

The new bridge across the strait is one of the biggest cable-stayed bridges in the world. Its central bay is 1,104 meters long, which is a world record. The bridge is 70 meters high. On Monday, two lanes have been opened for traffic on the bridge in a test mode. It is planned to open it for public and city transport on August 1.

Prime Minister Medvedev noted that the bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait “has already become a hallmark of the city”. “I am sure it will serve lots of people,” he added.

However, a lot has to be done still, the prime minister marked. In particular, the city is to host an APEC summit. Medvedev stressed that the summit was just a motivation for launching large-scale construction work. “This is not for the summit, this is for you,” he said to workers who had built the bridge.

The prime minister also pledged to promptly correct emerging problems in the construction of roads and facilities and thanked the workers for their work.

Medvedev also congratulated Vladivostok residents on City Day, as Vladivostok marks on Monday the 152nd anniversary of its foundation.

After the ceremony, Medvedev rode across the bridge on a bus together with construction workers. In the middle of the bridge they made a stopover to have their pictures taken. Workers told the prime minister that the bridge had produced an impression on French construction workers, as well as specialists from East Asia. “They were shocked,” they said.

Workers particularly stressed that the bridge had been built by Russian specialists. Upon his arrival in Vladivostok, the prime minister also visited a neighborhood under construction, where he was told that panels used to face houses are produced by Japanese companies. Medvedev’s reaction was negative, he stressed that such production must be launched in Russia.