The New Zaporizhzhia Dniper Bridge is an under-construction controlled-access highway bridge in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Construction of the bridge began in August 2004 with the first span of the bridge opened for public vehicular use in January 2022 after several years of delays. The bridge was opened in a public ceremony on January 22, 2022, by President Volodymyr Zelensky. When completed, the bridge will stand at a height of 151 meters, making it the tallest in Ukraine and the eighth tallest in Europe.
Project overview
The bridge consists of two spans that forms a long continuous highway connecting the east and west banks of the Dnieper at Zaporizhzhia. The highway and bridge project consists of six interchanges, a central two-deck bridge span and 27 overpasses. Construction on the bridge and bypass project began on August 30, 2004 with the westbound deck of the bridge completed in 2022 and opened for public use. Construction on the eastbound deck of the bridge was halted in February 2022 as a result of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The total cost of the project is estimated to be 11.9 billion Hryvnia ($460 million).
Prior to the completion of the bridge, there were only two crossings over the Dnieper in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Both crossings were located in the city of Zaporizhzhia. The two crossings were the dam Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and the Preobrazhensky Bridge. The nearest alternative crossing is the Southern Bridge in neighboring Dnipro. As of 2023, the bridge remains open to vehicular use despite the ongoing 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Project history
The bridge was conceived as a project that would connect the east and west banks of the Dnieper by running through Khortytsia Island. The project concept was included in the Zaporizhzhia 1965 to 1985 City Master Plan. In 1980, Soyuzdorproekt and the Dniprograd Institute developed a feasibility study for a new bridge crossing. The state declined to implement it in the 12th Five-Year Plan due to environmental concerns related to the ecology of Khortytsia Island. In 1987, a design for the bridge was completed and approved over those objections by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The project plan entailed the new bridge running parallel to the Preobrazhensky Bridge and crossing the southern portion of Khortytsia Island.
In 1997, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of an independent Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia City Council adopted a new master plan for the city which designated a route with a bridge over the Dnieper near Khortytsia Island. By 2003, a feasibility study for the project was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Per the approved plan, the total length of the highway would be, of which would span across the Dnieper. Per this approved plan, the new bridge was to be completed by 2011 at a cost of 1.9 billion Hryvnia (US$356 million). Construction of the bridge began in 2004. Then Mayor of Zaporizhzhia Yevhen Kartashov congratulated contractors on the first day of work. He participated in the driving of the first pylon of the project. Construction came to a halt shortly after beginning.
In 2010, 6 years after the start of construction, the government approved amendments to the project which increased the planned length of the bridge by 80 meters. As a result of the design change, the projected opening of the bridge postponed to 2013 and the cost of construction increased to 5.3 billion Hryvnia ($664 million). In 2014, construction of the bridge was halted due to the cancellation of funding. By the time of the cancellation, 2.4 billion Hryvnia had been spent on the bridge construction. In 2015, the project had a revised estimated cost of 6.6 billion Hryvnia ($302 million). Within a year of the cost revision, the project resumed and construction of a new bridge in Zaporizhzhia and the state provided an additional 250 million Hryvnia in funding.
In 2017, work on the bridge was halted due to design and engineering concerns. Work on the bridge resumed in 2018 with the east bank of Zaporizhzhia and the island of Khortytsia finally connected by 450 m of bridge deck. As a result of frustration around delays in completing the bridge, a protest was held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of construction starting. The event took place on an unfinished portion of bridge deck over the Dnieper. Activists erected a sign on the east bank portion of the structure with an appeal to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine to complete the construction.