12 Facts About Kerch bridge

Proposals to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait were considered from the early 20th century onward.

Construction of a combined road and railway Kerch bridge started in April 1943, but before it was finished, retreating German troops blew up the completed parts of the Kerch bridge and destroyed the ropeway.

Similar hopes were expressed by pro-Russian authorities in Crimea, who hoped that the Kerch bridge would contribute to either a "revival of the Silk Road" or to a multinational road along the Black Sea coast.

Construction of the Kerch bridge was reconsidered by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2006, and the then-Transport Minister of Ukraine Mykola Rudkovsky stated that he expected the Kerch bridge to be a "net positive for Crimea" as it would allow "every tourist visiting Russian Caucasus to visit Crimea as well".

The Kerch bridge has a symbolic purpose: it is meant to show Russia's resolve to hold Crimea, and as a "physical" attachment of Crimea to Russian territory.

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In January 2015, the contract for construction of the Kerch bridge was awarded to the SGM Group, whose owner Arkady Rotenberg was internationally sanctioned in response to the Russian military's involvement in Ukraine.

Since December 2018 the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly condemned the construction and opening of the Kerch bridge as "facilitating the further militarization of Crimea" and "restricting the size of ships that can reach the Ukrainian ports on the Azov coast".

On 8 October 2022 a major explosion occurred on the Kerch bridge, forcing portions of the Crimea-bound road segment to collapse and causing several oil tanker wagons on the rail section to catch fire.

Russian government's draft resolution of 1 September 2014 required the Kerch bridge to have four lanes of vehicle traffic and a double-track railway.

The Kerch bridge was opened for non-truck vehicle traffic on 16 May 2018 and for trucks on 1 October.

On 18 December 2019 the rail Kerch bridge was deemed ready for operation, and President Putin formally opened the Kerch bridge on 23 December.

Rail Kerch bridge design provides the ability to install an overhead railway electrification system "whenever such decision will be made", requiring no rebuilding of the Kerch bridge's structures.