03.10.2022
The Aluminium Association is presenting the latest developments in bridge construction at the Road 2022 International Exhibition and Forum. The Forum will take place in Kazan on October 12–14 with the support of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. The Federal Road Agency’s Information Centre for Roads (FSBI INFORMAVTODOR) will be the operator of the Exhibition and Forum.
The Road Exhibition and Forum is the largest industry discussion platform in our country, bringing together respected international experts and key representatives of Russia’s road transport complex from the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Rosavtodor, the Main Directorate for Road Traffic Safety of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and executive authorities of the Russian regions. Among the guests and participants in the event are manufacturers of materials and road construction equipment, representatives of science and business.
The Forum’s business programme will include plenary sessions, thematic conferences, workshops and presentations by major industry companies. In addition, the pavilions at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre will showcase cutting-edge road construction equipment, road service and street lighting facilities.
At the booth of the Aluminium Association, Krasnoyarsk Metallurgical Plant (KraMZ), Sespel company from Cheboksary, and Nesushchiye Sistemy company from Novosibirsk will be presenting their products. The centrepiece of the exhibition will be a sample of an aluminium orthotropic plate, which is used for the spans of road bridges. Two road bridges are currently under construction in Russia, in Nizhny Novgorod and Tula regions. The creation of these unique, first in the country and Eastern Europe, bridge structures with aluminium constructions involves the country’s leading scientific and production centres, including MADI, NRU MGSU, TsNIIS, ILMiT, enterprises of KraMZ, Sespel, ArconiC SMZ, and other members and partners of the Aluminium Association.
Orthotropic plate is a hollow slab for absorbing loads from the roadway with longitudinal vertical and inclined ribs between the upper and lower horizontal panels. It is called orthotropic because its rigidity in the longitudinal and transverse directions is different. Aluminium plates are made up of hollow elements joined by modern technique of friction stir welding. This method provides a higher quality connection than traditional argon-arc welding.
Visitors to the booth will be able to obtain the most comprehensive information on the projects that have been realised and those under construction. In Russia, 12 above-ground pedestrian crossings with aluminium alloy spans have been built and operated since 2017 — in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, and Tula. An anodic oxide-coated pedestrian bridge element will also be shown to the forum audience in a variety of colours. With their extensive range of colours, aluminium bridges blend in seamlessly with the existing landscapes of urban areas and neighbouring communities.
The largest exhibit at the Aluminium Association’s booth was provided by Nesushchiye Sistemy, a 10-metre-high translucent aluminium and glass structure that formed a pedestrian gallery. These structures have already found application: for example, the translucent gallery leads to the Ostankino TV Tower in Moscow.
Translucent structures (TLS) are structures made of aluminium alloy and glass. Applications: pedestrian galleries, atriums, façades, conservatories, and other structures. The main advantage of TLS is that they let natural light into the building through glass framed in an aluminium profile. But that’s not all: noise- and heat-insulating properties, lightness with strength comparable to steel, aesthetics — that’s what else attracts architects and builders to aluminium TLS.
Key topics of the business programme of the Road 2022 Exhibition and Forum: functioning of the road industry under sanctions; development of the backbone network of highways of the Russian Federation; implementation of the national project Safe Quality Roads; Moscow–Kazan–Yekaterinburg as a strategically important transport route; development of human resources in the road sector, transport education; auto tourism and road services.
The Aluminium Association will take part in the forum’s business programme. On October 12, during the round table ‘Road Construction in Russia: Bridges and Artificial Structures,’ Evgeny Vasiliev, Head of the Transport Infrastructure Department of the Aluminium Association, will make a presentation on ‘Aluminium Solutions in Modern Bridge-Building. Experience of Unique and Typical Projects in the Capital, and the Regions.’ The expert will share his practical experience in developing and implementing bridge construction projects with aluminium structures, presenting promising solutions as well as the materials and technologies used to create modern bridge structures.
About aluminium bridge building in Russia
Russia’s first aluminium bridge was built in 1969 in Leningrad. The aluminium structure replaces the wooden bridge connecting Kolomensky Island and Pokrovsky Island across the Griboyedov Canal. After 50 years, the Kolomensky Bridge is fully compliant with all standards: the load-bearing capacity of the structures has not changed, and all elements have escaped corrosion. Since 2017, with the active participation of the Aluminium Association, 12 pedestrian bridges with aluminium constructions have been erected and put into operation: two in the Nizhny Novgorod region, six in Krasnoyarsk, three in Moscow, and one in Tula. More than 20 bridges are currently being designed in Russia, using aluminium structures. Information on the history, development, international and Russian experience of aluminium bridge building can be found on the RIA Novosti website.