In Mykolaiv, for the second time in a month, there was a traffic collapse due to the breakdown of the Varvarivskyi bridge

Tonight, December 20, there were traffic jams in Mykolaiv in the area of the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges. The transport collapse occurred due to the breakdown of part of the Varvarivskyi bridge.

Currently, traffic is being regulated by patrol officers, the spokesman of Mykolaiv patrol police, Vitalii Dushko, said in a comment to NikVesti.

As of 5:15 p.m., the patrol police are asking drivers to avoid driving through the Inhulskyi and Varvarivskyi bridges if possible.

«Ours are on the spot, now regulating the traffic. As explained to me, the same situation as a few weeks ago arose — a problem with the metal plate at the joint. She was deformed again. Currently, they are waiting for a repair crew,» said Vitalii Dushko.

As you know, a similar situation occurred on the morning of December 6. At that time, ELU Avtodorih reported that an emergency situation had arisen with the construction of part of the Varvarivskyi bridge.

We remind you that during the meeting on October 13, the Government made a decision to transfer the Inhulskyi and Yuzhnobuzskyi (Varvarivskyi) bridges in Mykolaiv to state ownership. After that, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Mustafa Naiem, told about the stage of the Mykolaiv bypass bridge project and the plans for the repair of the Varvarivskyi and Inhulskyi bridges.

As you know, 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, said that there are no funds for this in the city budget.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also aware of the need to repair the Varvarivskyi bridge. In July 2019, the head of state announced that solving the problem of the Varvarivskyi 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 acting governor of the Mykolaiv Oblast Oleksandr Stadnyk to promise to repair the Varvariv bridge by the end of 2020.

The issue of the transfer of the Varvarivskyi bridge was also addressed by the deputy of the Mykolaiv 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.