Kyiv’s Podilskyi Bridge will be opened for passenger car traffic in early December. This decision was made at the Kyiv Defense Council, the press service of the Kyiv City Military Administration reports.
Previously, only specialized and special-purpose vehicles and public passenger transport could use the bridge.
The Podil bridge crossing is a two-tiered engineering structure that combines three bridges and overpasses. The upper tier is designed for six-lane automobile traffic, and the lower tier includes an overpass for the Troieshchyna subway.
Construction of the bridge began 30 years ago. In 1993, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the design documentation, providing for a crossing length of 7.04 km, and the construction was scheduled to be completed by 2002.
Preparatory work began in 1996, but a year later the project was frozen due to lack of funding. The resumption of work in 2011 allowed the first phase of the bridge to be put into operation, including traffic on the Havanskyi Bridge and the overpass on Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street.
In 2016, the KCSA revised and re-approved the construction project. In 2019, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the launch of traffic across the bridge was possible within 1.5-2 years, provided that it was properly funded.
Additional funds were allocated in October 2022, when the Kyiv City Council allocated UAH 183 million from the local budget for the completion.
On December 1, 2023, the bridge became available for special vehicles, emergency vehicles, and bus route No. 111.