Kyiv to build reserve crossings across the Dnipro as Russia targets bridges
Ukraine's Minister of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk said Kyiv will begin building reserve pontoon and causeway crossings across the Dnipro River next week, as repeated Russian drone strikes have damaged or shut the city's bridges. A tunnel under the Dnipro is also being considered as a long-term option.
Key points
- Minister Mykola Kalashnyk told Suspilne that construction of reserve crossings across the Dnipro is planned to start next week.
- The crossings would use embankment dams with pontoon bridges and are designed to provide at least half the capacity of existing bridges.
- Construction of individual crossings could take up to three months; preparatory work is already underway and locations have been determined.
- On 1–2 October Russian jet drones struck the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge in Kyiv at least four or five times; traffic on the bridge was fully halted for vehicles and the metro.
- On the morning of 3 October a Russian jet drone struck the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge, damaging the road surface and trolleybus contact network and injuring two people.
- On average about 600,000 vehicles a day cross between Kyiv's left and right banks.
- Long-term options under consideration include a tunnel under the Dnipro and quickly erected concrete structures, estimated to cost tens of billions of hryvnias and dependent on international partner support.
Why it matters
Kyiv's bridges are the only road and metro links between the left and right banks, carrying roughly 600,000 vehicles a day. Russian drone strikes in early October put the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge out of service and damaged the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge. Reserve pontoon crossings are designed to keep at least half of that traffic moving if bridges are hit again, while a possible tunnel under the Dnipro would be a much larger, partner-financed project.
What happened
Minister of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk said in an interview to Suspilne that Kyiv will start building reserve crossings across the Dnipro next week. The crossings would use embankment dams with pontoon bridges to link the left and right banks if the existing bridges are damaged. Preparatory work is already underway and locations have been determined, but construction of an individual crossing could take up to three months. The reserve crossings are intended to provide at least half the throughput of the existing bridges.
The announcement follows a series of Russian drone attacks on Kyiv's bridges. On 1–2 October, the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge was hit at least four or five times by jet drones, including an explosion near a support while a metro train was passing, and traffic on the bridge was fully stopped for both vehicles and the metro. On 2 October the Pivdennyi, Paton and Metro bridges were closed to public transport with traffic rerouted via the Darnytskyi Bridge, and the city introduced new traffic rules for bridges across the Dnipro. On the morning of 3 October a Russian jet drone struck the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge, damaging the road surface and trolleybus contact network and injuring two people.
Kalashnyk said a coordination meeting at the president assigned the work to the ministry, the Restoration Agency, the military and the Kyiv city authorities, with the ministry taking the lead because the city had not been handling the issue on its own. He outlined a four-stage priority: prevent strikes, protect bridges, rapidly restore them, and build alternative reserve crossings. Similar reserve crossings are planned in other regions of Ukraine, not only on the Dnipro.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the number of Russian drone strikes on the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge in early October: one source says at least four hits, while others say at least five hits within about 1.5 days. Accounts of the new bridge traffic rules introduced on 2 October also differ: one says they included significant restrictions on the Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge, while another specifies that during air-raid alerts the Pivdennyi and Podilsko-Voskresenskyi bridges would be restricted for 15 minutes with other bridges operating without restrictions. Some sources describe the 2 October transport situation as a closure of the Pivdennyi, Paton and Metro bridges to public transport with traffic diverted via the Darnytskyi Bridge; others describe a broader citywide transport collapse with major thoroughfares paralyzed and people crossing bridges on foot.
Background
The reserve-crossings initiative was raised at a presidential coordination meeting involving the ministry, the Restoration Agency, the military and Kyiv city authorities, with the ministry taking the lead because the city had not been handling the issue on its own. Kalashnyk outlined a four-stage priority order: prevent strikes, protect bridges, rapidly restore them, and build alternative reserve crossings. Similar reserve crossings are planned not only in Kyiv but also in other regions of Ukraine, and not only on the Dnipro River.