Smolensky Metro Bridge is a steel arch bridge

Arch bridge

An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...

 that spans Moskva River

Moskva River

The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...

 in Dorogomilovo District

Dorogomilovo District

Dorogomilovo District is a district in Western Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. The district, adjacent to Presnensky, Arbat, and Khamovniki Districts of Central Administrative Okrug, contains a prestigious five-kilometer strip of land along Kutuzovsky Prospekt, Victory Park, and Kiyevsky...

 of Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It is the first bridge built for the Moscow Metro

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...

 in 1935–1937, designed by N.P.Polikarpov, P.K.Antonov (structural engineering

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....

) and Yakovlev brothers (architectural design). It remains the only bridge over Moskva River that is used exclusively by Metro (subway) trains, while the other Metro bridges combine road and rail.

History and specifications

The first stage of Moscow Metro opened in 1935 terminated at a shallow alignment Smolenskaya

Smolenskaya (Filyovskaya)

Smolenskaya is a station on the Filyovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It was opened in 1935 as part of the first Metro line. Designed by S.G. Andriyevsky and T.N. Makarychev, the station features gray marble pillars with flared bases and walls faced with white ceramic tile...

 station. The second stage (opened in 1937) started with a 1.4 kilometer westward extension from Smolenskaya to Kiyevskaya, a station serving the Kiyevsky Rail Terminal, which required a river crossing. Tunnel crossing was impractical; an open contest for the bridge design was held in spring 1935. Yakovlev brothers won with a relatively modest, reserved prototype . Actual bridge was built without planned statues and portico.

The two-track bridge is supported with two 150 meter long, 11 meter high П-shaped steel arches. Arch box profile is 1.2 meter high at extreme points, 2.7 meter high in the middle. Above ground, track continues on concrete girders above embankments, so the bridge has a total of six spans: 19.225+20.5+19.225+150.0+19.225+19.225 meters. Two main pillars, finished in grey granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

, are based on flat caissons

Caisson (engineering)

In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...

, each measuring 40 by 17.5 meters (700 square meters) .

Regular train service was closed in 1953 when a parallel, deep alignment Metro line was built. In 1958, service was resumed with the opening of Filyovskaya Line

Filyovskaya Line

Filyovskaya Line , or Line 4, is a line of the Moscow Metro. Chronologically the sixth to open, it connects the major eastern districts of Dorogomilovo and Fili along with the Moscow City with the city centre...

.