Henichesk Bridge

The Henichesk Bridge was built in 1915 by Waagner-Biro. In 1951, German engineers transported this bridge from the Belarussian city of Orsha towards Henichesk. This bridge replaced a wooden bridge at a similar location, which was destroyed during the Second World War.^[1]

According to a report from the Henichesk Local History Museum [uk] in 1956, this bridge was built from "overhead structures, trophy collapsible overhead structures of the Rot-Wagner (RV-1) type, removed from the temporary bridge across the Dnieper from Orsha. At the end of December 1951, regular train traffic was opened on the bridge^[2]".

Until 1968, this bridge was used as a rail bridge, and was part of the Novooleksiivka-Valok line.^[3]

Since this region is prone to thunderstorms, the rails on the bridge came to be effectively destroyed over the years. Instead of replacing new rails, this bridge was then used for road traffic instead. In the 1980s, another concrete bridge was erected about half a kilometer away. Since then, this bridge has been mainly used for sightseeing and fishing instead of transportation.^[4]

On February 24, 2022, at the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a member of the Ukrainian military, Vitalii Skakun, blew up this bridge to stall the Russian advance, and sacrificed his own life in the process.^[5] Two days later, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded him the Hero of Ukraine.^[6]

Henichesk Bridge utilizes the "Waagner Roth" system, developed by the Austro-Hungarian company of the same name during the First World War. During the war, the construction of a prefabricated railway bridge, which would have the least amount of assembly equipment and time needed, was developed by a young Austrian engineer, Friedrich Roth (1878-1940). This system was originally used to quickly replace destroyed bridges, including rail bridges, which was an important capability in wartime. This method allowed for the construction of up to 26 meters a day, but was relatively expensive.

The bridge structure was assembled from small typical elements in a hanging position with a cantilever length of up to 50 meters. At the same time, additional supports were not required. A crane-like lifting device was located at the top of the bridge. It moved as the object lengthened, thus the bridge built itself. The iron bridge structure was built without a single welding seam. The thread is twisted exclusively on bolts and nuts.^[2]