Assessing the technical condition of Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi Bridges

Varvarivskyi bridge in Mykolaiv

In Mykolaiv, during 2024, they plan to carry out a technical inspection and testing of the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges.

The relevant tender was published by the Mykolayiv Oblast infrastructure restoration and development service on the public procurement service ProZorro, NikVesti writes.

Work on the inspection of the serviceability of the two bridges is estimated at 9 million 743 thousand 980 hryvnias. For these funds, the contractor must determine the technical condition of bridges and approaches to them. Based on the results, operating conditions and permissible load will be determined. The winner of the tender must develop conclusions and recommendations regarding further repair, operation and maintenance of bridges.

Examination services include, in particular:

• underwater and surface inspection of supports;
• inspection of the span part of the bridge — the structure covering the space between the piers;
• determination of load capacity and strength of concrete;
• assessment of the technical condition of the pavement and fencing of the carriageway and sidewalks;
• examination of approaches to bridges for deformations.

After carrying out a technical inspection, the tender winner must submit proposals for options for capital repairs of bridges and determine their residual resource. The deadline for all inspections is December 31.

The tender states that the last technical inspection of the Varvarivskyi bridge was carried out in 2017. As for Ingulskyi, the date of the last examination has not been specified.

We will remind you that in the afternoon of February 2 there were traffic jams in the area of the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges in Mykolaiv. The transport collapse occurred due to the breakdown of a part of the Varvarivskyi bridge. This is the third failure of a part of the bridge in the last two months.

Varvarivsyi bridge

Varvarivskyi Bridge in Mykolaiv is part of the M-14 highway of international importance «Odesa — Melitopol — Novoazovsk» and is currently in a state of emergency. In February 2020 , the process of transferring the bridge from the municipal ownership of the city to the balance sheet of Ukravtodor began, but it has not yet been completed. This is due to the fact that the Ministry of Finance is asking Mykolaiv to provide the cost of reconstruction of the building in order to accept Varvarivskyi Bridge as state property. For this, the city needs to conduct an examination and order design and estimate documentation for the repair of the bridge, the total cost of which is about 20 million hryvnias. The mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that there are no funds for this in the city budget.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also aware of the need to repair the Varvarivsky bridge. In July 2019, the head of state announced that solving the problem of the Varvariv bridge is the governor's first priority. Four months later, during a briefing in Ochakiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced this issue again. Then he forced the governor of the Mykolaiv Oblast Oleksandr Stadnyk, acting at the time, to promise to repair the Varvarivskyi bridge by the end of 2020.

The issue of the transfer of the Varvarivskyi bridge was also addressed by the member of the Nikolaev City Council Tetiana Dombrovska. In July 2021, she initiated a meeting with the participation of the Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, «Ukravtodor» and the city council, in order to understand the issue of the transfer of the bridge. However, this also did not give results, because after two months the issue was not resolved. At the same time, «Ukravtodor» reported that the question of allocating money for the repair of the Varvarivskyi bridge will be considered only after it is transferred to state ownership.

Inhulskyi and Shyrokobalskyi bridges

In addition to the Varvariv bridge, in February 2020 the deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council also approved the transfer of the Ingul and Shirokobal bridges to the balance sheet of Ukravtodor. The vice-mayor of Mykolaiv, Serhii Korenev, said that the Shyrokobalskyi Bridge cannot be accepted as state property, because it is not located on a route of international importance. At that time , people's deputy Oleksandr Haydu was ready to provide assistance in finding funds for repairs.

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said that there is no money in the city budget for the repair of the Shyrokobalskyi crossing in Korabelnyi district. The capital repair project of the bridge provides for the cost of works in the amount of 115 million hryvnias. However, the cost of its reconstruction after passing the examination increased to 165 million hryvnias.

Ingul Bridge in Mykolaiv

Ingul Bridge in Mykolaiv

As for the Inhulskyi Bridge, two years after the city council approved the transfer, in July 2021, Vice Mayor Serhii Korenev reported that the city has not yet received a response from the central authorities regarding the transfer of the Inhulskyi Bridge to the state. At the same time, People's Deputy of Ukraine from the «Servant of the People» party, Oleksandr Haidu, said that the transfer of the bridge to the balance sheet of «Ukravtodor» was suspended until the completion of all procedures by the Varvariv bridge in Mykolaiv.

«Japanese» bridge

Plans to build a new bridge in Mykolaiv have been announced for many years. In 2013, Japanese investors became interested in the construction of a bridge across the Southern Bug. The total cost of construction for that period was estimated at 3.5 billion hryvnias. The ambassador of Japan even came to Mykolaiv, who confirmed the importance of the construction of the bridge. However, Japanese investors decided to finance the reconstruction of sewage networks in the village of Bortnychy near Kyiv, instead of building a bridge in Mykolaiv.

In 2018, negotiations regarding the construction of the bridge were resumed. The mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych announced in July of this year that the construction of the so-called «Japanese» bridge in Mykolaiv may begin in 2022 and end in 4 years. A year after that, representatives of the Japanese company JICA even submitted the results of the study as part of the preparation of the project for the construction of a bridge across the Southern Bug.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the issue of the construction of the Japanese bridge in Mykolaiv. In October 2019, he discussed the prospects of building a bridge in Mykolaiv with JICA President Sinichi Kitaoka.

In February 2021, the governor of the Mykolaiv Region, Vitalii Kim, stated that the construction of the «Japanese» bridge could begin in December 2021. In August of the same year, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych announced the speedy completion of bureaucratic processes related to the construction of the «Japanese» bridge in Mykolaiv. He said that all issues will be resolved «in the next month.»

Vladyslav Chaika, deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council, said that according to the updated feasibility study developed by the Japanese side, the bridge will be built outside the city limits — in the area of Matviivka and Slyvyne. According to him, if the Interproekt company does not prepare the project by the end of 2021, the Japanese side will refuse the work.