This relatively old three-span bridge spanning the Moskva River is part of the Third Transport Ring route between the Likhachev plant and the Danilovsky district of the capital. Initially, there was the Starodanilovsky bridge, built of wood.
In 1959-1961, the main bridge was built according to the project of Giprotransmost engineer S. Ya. Terekhin. and architects Yakovlev K. N. and Yakovlev Yu. N.
Wooden bridge
Instead of the current Avtozavodsky bridge, a wooden bridge called Starodanilovsky used to cross the river. It was built according to the project of Kalmykov N. Ya. in 1915-1916 in order to serve the southern outskirts of Moscow, which were rapidly developing in those days. It was located along the route of the modern Novodanilovsky passage, a little further than the modern bridge - 300 meters downstream. That crossing had 3 spans (70 meters) with a central lifting section 20 meters long, which rose two meters in height to allow ships to pass. At the same time, river ships folded their masts to pass under it, but this wasnot enough.
During the reconstruction of the entire river economy in the 1930s, the Starodanilovsky wooden bridge was nevertheless preserved. During Soviet times, 2 tracks for trams were laid on it and 2 lanes for road transport were equipped.
Construction of the Avtozavodsky Bridge
In Moscow in 1953, a decision was made to replace the old bridge. Prior to this, an attempt was made to antiseptic (preserve) the upper parts of the bridge trusses, which by that time had begun to rot. It should be noted that since 1953, all wooden structures have been treated with antiseptics to prevent decay. However, such a procedure could not improve the throughput, and therefore in 1959 the construction of a new Avtozavodsky bridge began. The old one, Starodanilovsky, served until the opening of the new one until 1961. Not far from the current bridge, the preserved pillars of the old wooden structure are still visible.
Until 1986, trams ran along the new bridge from the Tulskaya and Avtozavodskaya metro stations to the Proletarskaya station. In connection with the repair work since 1986, the tram traffic was canceled and again restored in 1988. At that time, the branch became a dead end - there was a revolving ring behind the bridge. In 1992, the tram lines were completely removed.
Design features and characteristics of a modern bridge
The bridge has three spans (148 m - central and 36, 4m - side). The total length, together with coastal structures, is about 900 meters with a maximum width of 43.4 meters. In the middle of the channel span, the bridge is equipped with a hinge. The basis of the structure in cross section are 4 box beams. The width of the latter is 5.5 meters, the height is 7.5 meters above the supports and up to 2.65 meters in the span lock.
The beams themselves are prefabricated, consisting of box-shaped elements weighing about 160 tons. Tightening is provided by 576 steel cables with a diameter of 45 mm. Just like on the Begovoy overpass and on the bridge for metro trains in Luzhniki, not entirely successful design of beams was used to cover the side spans of the Avtozavodsky bridge.
Immediately during operation, a shortcoming of the design scheme and assembly method was revealed, due to which there is a gradual deformation of the structure of the spans with subsidence of the vault lock. The drawdown by 1990 was 1.3 m from the estimated height. The main reason for this problem was the simplified assembly method.
Recent renovations
In 1992, the bridge had to be closed for repairs. Reconstruction work continued until 1996, but the main drawback of the hinged system could not be eliminated. The second time the bridge was closed in 2000-2001, after which it was included in the Third Transport Ring. During the repair, side spans of the same “Luznikov type” were replaced and side overpasses were installed at the exits.
In the autumn of 2016, traffic was limited on the Avtozavodsky bridge due to regularrepair work, which created quite serious congestion on the third transport ring. The renovation was completed in the summer of 2017.
