Skip to main content

Kazakhstan bridge project complete

The opening of a new bridge in Kazakhstan that spans the Irtysh River is now offering a shorter route for drivers. The link is 12.3km long and is now the longest such structure in Central Asia, while the project cost around US$157 million. Its length was necessary as the bridge crosses a floodplain area, with a channel that can widen considerably following periods of heavy rain. Located in the country’s Pavlodar region, the bridge cuts the route used previously by over 40km. The bridge is expected to carry
December 16, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The opening of a new bridge in Kazakhstan that spans the Irtysh River is now offering a shorter route for drivers. The link is 12.3km long and is now the longest such structure in Central Asia, while the project cost around US$157 million. Its length was necessary as the bridge crosses a floodplain area, with a channel that can widen considerably following periods of heavy rain. Located in the country’s Pavlodar region, the bridge cuts the route used previously by over 40km. The bridge is expected to carry around 10,000 vehicles/day and will improve the country’s transport connections with Russia while also providing a key central section of the road route that runs all the way from China to Western Europe.

The structure rests on 1,146 bored piles and 66 bridge supports and is constructed from around 13,500tonnes of steel as well as 150,000m3 of concrete. The bridge project marks something of a step ahead for the country as it utilised modern construction techniques, such as the use of a heavy lifting process with cables and jacks to erect the central span.

Related Content

  • Causeway and immersed road for LagoonHull
    December 1, 2021
    The agency proposing the UK’s LagoonHull project says it’s development and construction costs could be between €1.2-2.4 billion.
  • Italy's strategic tunnel link
    August 21, 2012
    The world's largest tunnelling machine is completing Italy's important road connection between Bologna and Florence - Adrian Greeman reports For just under a decade a huge programme of highway construction has been underway in the mountainous region between Bologna and Florence, realigning a section of the A1 highway nearly 70km long. The new section, through major tunnels and across high viaducts, will greatly increase capacity on Italy's most important highway.
  • Bridges in Sunderland and Poland are being slid into place
    February 6, 2017
    Sunderland sees a bridge slide into place and two bridges inch their way across a Polish highway Slowly but surely, a 2,500 tonne section of a new bridge deck was eased out from the banks of the River Wear near Sunderland in northern England. It now straddles the water, pointing towards the opposite bank which it will eventually reach after another sliding operation likely to take place next year. The project to build the New Wear Crossing is now halfway through with the first half of the steel deck b
  • Pre-stressed bridge decks use modular formwork system
    July 9, 2012
    Imaginative formwork, often using modular components, is helping to shape some challenging bridges worldwide. Patrick Smith reports Traffic volumes in and around Prague have swollen massively in recent years, pushing the existing road network to the limits of its capacity. To permanently ease congestion in the Czech capital's centre, a multi-lane orbital motorway is under construction as a high capacity bypass for central Prague and to link up all the motorways and other major highways radiating from the ci