Source
29.11.2024 | Aluminium Association
The creation of innovative alloys and technologies, the development of competencies, the updating of the regulatory framework, import substitution and the interaction of the professional community have allowed the transport infrastructure sector to make a breakthrough in recent years. This was stated at the forum 'Aluminium Bridges: Experience and Practice in Design, Construction and Operation', held in Moscow, at the Moscow Automobile and Road Construction State Technical University (MADI). The event was attended by industry experts, government customers, engineers, designers of the road transport industry, as well as leading research centres in Russia. Experts from the Aluminium Association, MADI, Giprostroymost-Ulyanovsk Institute CJSC, NIL IIMSK MGSU, Mostovaya Inspectsiya LLC, RusWay LLC, TSNIISK, ILMiT, SPbPU and KRAMZ spoke at the conference.
'Being at the forefront of developing transport infrastructure enables the provision of comfortable and safe travel for citizens, with minimal time delays, aligning with all contemporary mobility principles. For our country, this means the development of infrastructure, regional economies and the creation of new jobs,' said Evgeny Vasiliev, UC RUSAL's Director of Market Development, who moderated the forum. He noted that aluminium alloy bridges meet all the key requirements of the modern economy. They are strong and have a lower weight compared to their counterparts, which allows using light-duty cranes on construction sites and involving fewer people in installation. Undemanding in operation, they are not subject to corrosion, which saves the regional budget on the life cycle of objects.
'Although aluminium bridges are common in many countries worldwide, in Russia, this technology is relatively new. The Aluminium Association has quickly navigated a challenging journey, overcoming barriers and scepticism towards aluminium as a bridge-building material, demonstrating its clear benefits and completing around 70 projects. Nowadays, an increasing number of regions are turning to the construction of pedestrian and quickly assembled bridges using aluminium alloys,' stated Irina Kazovskaya, Chair of the Aluminium Association. She recalled that before the Association's initiative to build two pilot pedestrian crossings in the Nizhny Novgorod Region in 2017, there was only a single aluminium bridge in Russia – the Kolomenskiy Bridge in Saint Petersburg (1969). In 2023, the first aluminium alloy road bridge in Eastern Europe was opened in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The construction of a road bridge using aluminium alloys is the result of years of research by institutes, numerous studies and tests on dynamics, stretching, fire resistance, wear resistance, the choice of pavement design and more.
A problem the Association encountered in 2017 was the shortage of staff skilled in working with modern aluminium alloys, adept in welding techniques and aware of all the metal's strengths. The sector was indeed established 'from scratch', and to further advance bridge construction, it is essential to enhance the accessibility of new technologies and materials for students. The creation of educational programmes aimed at introducing future transport infrastructure engineers and designers to the world's leading technologies will allow the engineering community to attract new personnel to the industry, ready to ensure the country's technological leadership in terms of transport infrastructure. 'The use of aluminium in bridge construction is a rapidly expanding field in artificial structure building. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of unique objects, while technologies continue to improve. MADI takes part in projects involving the construction and operation of bridges using aluminium alloys, but we think it's important to move forward and start developing collaborative educational programmes. Cooperation between the Aluminium Association, MADI and other institutes will allow Russia to obtain new talented engineers in one of the most advanced areas—aluminium bridge building,' says Artem Azhgirevich, Rector of MADI.
State support, including through national projects such as 'Comfortable Urban Environment' and 'Safe Quality Roads', can also contribute to the development of our country's transport infrastructure and the use of high-tech Russian products made of aluminium alloys. As part of the national project, in October 2020, a pedestrian crossing made of aluminium alloys was put into operation in Tula, connecting the Tula Suvorov School and the Patriot-Tula military and patriotic leisure park, which became the first project implemented with this innovative technology in the Central Federal District. 4 years later, with the participation of the government of the Tula region and the administration of the Uzlovaya district municipality, the first aluminium crossing over railway tracks appeared in the region at the Uzlovaya-1 station. For Russia, this is the second such project after Krasnoyarsk, where a crossing made of aluminium alloys has been built over the tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Technologies for the construction of superstructures made of aluminium alloys made it possible to install the bridge with minimal inconvenience to the railway traffic and without any stoppages.
In modern Russia, more than 15 regions successfully operate various types of bridges made of aluminium alloys–pedestrian, road and prefabricated, including the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Samara, Tula, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod regions, Moscow, etc. A new solution for addressing the pressing issue of bridges in disrepair in Russia could be pre-fabricated bridges—'Bridge Kit No. 1'. In November 2024, the Russian Ministry of Construction issued the initial technical certificate for the bridge kit, confirming the new products' suitability for use in construction. The project created by the Aluminium Association enables the delivery of a standard bridge kit to the site in an almost ready-to-use form, allowing installation with minimal expert involvement in just 2 hours. Such a bridge kit does not require special maintenance, and its service life exceeds 70 years. Even after the usefulness of the bridge kit runs out, the structures can be reprocessed, thereby compensating for some of the original funds spent.
During the forum 'Aluminium Bridges: Experience and Practice in Design, Construction and Operation', an agreement was signed between the Aluminium Association and MADI on cooperation in the field of practical training and internship programmes for university students at industry companies, conducting joint professionally oriented events and raising awareness of the professional community about innovative products and materials.
