OREANDA-NEWS. June 10, 2008. As part of the preparations for the Bovanenkovo field development on the Yamal Peninsula, Gazprom has completed the main construction stage of a crossing over the Yuribey River floodplain. The crossing will be part of the Obskaya – Bovanenkovo railroad.

On the whole, over three kilometers of the crossing (78 per cent of the total planned length) have been built since the construction launch. In particular, 88 bridge arms were constructed as well as 85 spans (34.2 m each) and 2 spans (110 m each) were installed.

As the bulk of the work could only be performed during the winter period, construction proceeded on a round-the-clock basis. As a result, the work was completed within 235 days, 2.5-3-fold faster than normally needed for the construction of similar facilities. Over 1,300 people were employed at the building site.

The crossing is unparalleled in the world’s bridge construction practice both in terms of design and the climatic and permafrost conditions of construction and operation. In particular, the crossing is being constructed without the traditional deposition of soil, which enables to preserve the river floodplain’s ecosystem.

20-40 m deep wells were drilled so as to secure the reliability of crossing arms under the permafrost conditions.