The Novosibirsk Rail Bridge is a single-track railway bridge across the Ob River. Originally constructed as part of the Trans-Siberian Railway mainline, the bridge was narrow, with only one track. It was designed by Nikolai Belelubsky and built in between 1893 and 1897. The location of the bridge was selected by Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovsky. It is believed that the decision to start the bridge's construction near the village of Krivoschekovo () led to the foundation of Novosibirsk.
Selecting a place to cross the Ob River
The process of selecting a suitable location for the future bridge has proven to be quite challenging. Initially, the plan was for the railroad to go through the town of Tomsk, which meant that the bridge had to be constructed approximately 55 km west of Tomsk, precisely where the Ob river experienced regular surges due to the melting snow during the spring season. However, this particular area proved unsuitable for the construction endeavors, thereby necessitating the search for an alternative site. This work is generally understood to be done by Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovsky (known not only as a prominent civil engineer, but also as a writer). He proposed to choose a narrow site with rocky outcrops on the surface that was situated about 200 km southwest of Tomsk. Nowadays it is known as a city of Novosibirsk. It was just beyond the north extremity the Salair Ridge.
In late August of 1891, a plenary meeting of three major state officials took place in the Big Krivoschekovo village. The participants included Head of Department of construction of railways Konstantin Mikhailovsky, State Counsellor Vladimir Berezin (future contractor), as well as Commander of exploration group Vikenti-Ignatsy Royetski. They examined the hydrographic data submitted by Royetski and took their final decision to recommend a place for the future bridge crossing, where a local cattle wade was situated. That is how the building location for the future bridge was chosen.
Construction and initial design
The first railway bridge was designed by the brilliant civil engineer Prof. Nikolai Belelubsky, a well-known Russian scientist in the field of structural mechanics and engineering who developed several bridge projects in the Russian Empire.
Originally, the bridge superstructure was made up of nine bowstring arch through truss spans over the river channel with double lattice girders that measured 109-meter (358 ft.) in length. The design required meticulous alignment of the top and floor elements, known as cords, as well as the inter-cord elements, which are the web elements. These elements were all manufactured using open-hearth steel and were produced at the renowned Votkinsk ironworks, which is now known as the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant located in Udmurtia. This ironworks had been utilizing open hearth furnaces since 1871, which allowed them to produce railway rails for the country's extensive railway network.
Belelubsky also applied his own innovative constructive solution called 'free carriageway'. This innovative approach, subsequently became known as 'Russian-style support', involved using pin-connected elements at a chosen angle, which allowed for shorter panel lengths, simplified structural framing, and minimized secondary stresses within the truss components. Furthermore, the inclusion of vertical load-bearing elements in this design greatly streamlined the construction of cradles, base frames, and structural connections used in the trusses. The revolutionary nature of this connection method was recognized and honored with a gold medal at the 1890 Edinburgh Exhibition, solidifying its reputation as a game-changing development in the field of engineering.
The bridge was built entirely of open-hearth steel, a newly developed material at the time of its construction. Steelwork elements used in the bridge superstructure weighted 4423 tons and were fabricated at the famous Votkinsk ironworks in Udmurtia under the supervision of the prolific contractor General V.I. Berezin. The height above low water-mark was .
The truss superstructure was set on masonry piers that were reinforced upstream with triangular buttresses (cutwaters) to break up ice that floats downstream in spring. The clear head room was 17 metres (56 ft.) above mean high water.
