Red Bridge (Saint Petersburg)

 road bridge, UNESCO World Heritage Site, historic landmark, 1810s construction

The Red Bridge connects the Kazan and 2nd Admiralty Islands across the Moika River. The bridge marks the border between the Admiralty and the Central districts of St. Petersburg. This is one of the oldest bridges in the Northern capital.

The Red Bridge is a single–span metal bridge with a length of 33.6 meters and a width of 16.6 meters.

The superstructure consists of seven double-hinged welded arches interconnected by a system of transverse beams and longitudinal ties. The facades of the superstructure are covered with decorative metal sheets. Granite obelisks with four-sided lanterns on metal brackets and gilded balls are installed at the entrances. The railing is a cast iron grating according to the type of the Moika River fence. The roadway is separated from the sidewalks by cast-iron fences.

For the first time in 1717, a wooden drawbridge was built here for the passage of small vessels with masts. Until 1808, the bridge was called White, and then, having changed its color, it became known as Red.

At the end of the XVIII century, the bridge was rebuilt into a three-span wooden one with the elimination of the lifting part.

In 1808-1814, according to the project of engineer and architect V.I. Geste, who for the first time used cast-iron bearing structures in Russian bridge construction from separate cast-iron sections-"boxes" connected by bolts, the wooden Red Bridge was rebuilt into a single-span, cast-iron, arched. The superstructure is made according to the type of Folk, Singing, Novo-Moskovsky, Potseluyev, Alexandrovsky (disassembled). Cast-iron bridge structures were manufactured at the Ural factories of N.N. Demidov. The abutments are massive, stone, on a pile foundation, lined with granite.

Cast-iron grilles are installed on the bridge, repeating the pattern of the Moika embankment fence. Granite cone-shaped obelisks with gilded balls and tetrahedral lanterns are installed at the entrances of the bridge. The roadway of the bridge is separated from the sidewalk by a simple metal fence with granite bollards.

During the period of operation from 1929 to 1950, progressive deformations (opening of seams, rupture of bolts, cracks in the ribs and bottoms of cast-iron boxes) of the supports and superstructure were observed. As a result of the survey, the condition of the bridge was recognized as an emergency.

In 1953, the bridge was reconstructed, the cast-iron superstructures were replaced with piled metal double-hinged arches, which are interconnected by longitudinal and transverse links. The facades of the superstructure are covered with decorative metal sheets. The Moika River railing pattern has been preserved, granite obelisks with tetrahedral lanterns and gilded balls have been restored at the entrances of the bridge, as well as internal fencing.

In 1998, another restoration of the Red Bridge was carried out. The lamps were repaired, cast-iron and granite fences were recreated. In 2011, the painting was updated.

The history of the "colored bridges" across the Moika is interesting — initially there were four of them: Yellow (now Pevchesky), Green (formerly Police and Folk), Red (originally White) and Blue. Similar bridges were located close to each other, and residents often confused them. It was decided to eliminate this inconvenience with the help of color.

Of the three cast-iron bridges of the same type across the Moika, built at the beginning of the XIX century according to the project of V.I. Geste, only the Red Bridge has preserved its external historical appearance to our time.

en.mostotrest-spb.ru/bridges/krasnyj