Roads vs War: How Ukravtodor restores destroyed bridges and roads
And what challenges its’ workers face at work
Despite all the forecasts, Ukraine continues to powerfully oppose the enemy on the front line for ten months. Meanwhile, in the rear, the painstaking restoration of the infrastructure – a valuable element of Ukraine's defence capability – continues. Roads have played an important role in the evacuation of people and the transporting humanitarian goods since the first day of the full-scale war. Andriy Ivko, First Deputy Head of Ukravtodor motorway agency, told Mind how the restoration of highways goes and what challenges Ukravtodor faces during this process.
Thanks to the development of checkpoints with the allied states in October, road transport increased the volume of exports and imports, which helps to sustain the domestic economy. In October, the share of Ukrainian export by road transport was 37%, import – 77%, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure. Permanent and high-quality road connections of all controlled Ukrainian territories are a national priority.
Bridges that were destroyed during hostilities remain a key obstacle. The need to bypass blown-up bridges increases the length of logistics cycles. While in peacetime it brought only material losses, now it can cost life.
According to Ukravtodor's calculations, 341 man-made structures were ruined: bridges and overpasses have been destroyed due to hostilities. 150 of them are the parts of the state-important roads. Their restoration is mostly a joint work of contractors of regional highway services and the Special Transport Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Through coordination and cooperation with military bridge builders, 72 bridges on roads of state importance have been restored to date.
Read also: To restore everything: what you should know about the “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine
What does the phrase "passage has been restored" mean?
There are several options depending on the nature of the destruction and the security situation. In some places, we are building a bypass road parallel to the destroyed bridge, such as in Irpin on the road R-30. When it is possible, we asphalt the detour. Such bypasses still have weight restrictions and are most suitable for passenger vehicles.
There are cases when we had to make two temporary crossings next to one destroyed bridge, because the traffic is very intense. In October, an additional crossing was built near Gostomel on the M-07 Kyiv – Kovel – Yagodyn highway. This road connects the capital with Gostomel, Bucha and Borodianka.
If the bridge has partially survived and can be repaired quickly – we opt for this. I can mention the 200-metre bridge over the Psel River in Sumy Oblast. The pier and several spans of the artificial structure were ruined. Because of this, the transportation between the Lebedyn community and the province centre was cut off, and the length of journey to Sumy almost doubled. But in a few months, the bridge was repaired and traffic restored.
In some cases, a temporary metal bridge can be quickly installed on the site of a completely destroyed bridge. We received such structures in the form of humanitarian aid from the Czech Republic. Metal bridges can be quickly assembled and traffic can be quickly restored in a short period. Near Balakliya, such a crossing helps to connect the de-occupied city with the Kharkiv highway R-78. Also, temporary bridges that can be assembled quickly were given to Ukraine by France. This is valuable help from our European colleagues.
The last way to restore the bridge is the most expensive, but the most necessary for the traffic of trucks – capital reconstruction. It’s not about just short-term actions for the "survival" of the infrastructure, but about a strategic strengthening of the road network. This approach is used in exceptional cases, given the security situation, on the key roads of Ukraine.
What was restored after the de-occupation of the north of Ukraine?
In Kyiv Oblast, we chose two bridges on internationally important roads that were blown up at the very beginning of the war. The first one is in Stoyanka, on the highway M-06 Kyiv – Chop. The bridge became a significant obstacle for the occupiers' plans to surround the capital.
After the northern part of Ukraine was finally liberated from russians, road workers arranged a temporary bypass road and a pontoon crossing at the site of the blown-up structure. However, only cars could drive there, trucks had to go around extra tens of kilometres.
Since Kyiv is the country’s main transport hub, a full-fledged bridge with four traffic lanes in Stoyanka was absolutely necessary. One passage was rebuilt in less than two months on the residues of the old structures, and the second one on November 3.
A recovered bridge in Kyiv Oblast
Another object that is located on the international road M-03 Kyiv – Kharkiv – Dovzhansky is a bridge over the Trubizh River. The route connects the capital with Poltava Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast. It plays an important role in the country's trade, ensuring the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front lines and the operation of humanitarian corridors. The right lane of the capital rebuilt bridge has already been opened, traffic on the left will be opened in the nearest future.
All of the above goes to Kyiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, Sumy Oblast and Zhytomyr Oblast, which were liberated in the spring. The situation is much more complicated in areas with active hostilities and in regions a few kilometres away from the front line.
What is the situation with the restoration of roads in Kharkiv Oblast?
25 objects were destroyed on state roads. Some of them are located close to the border with russia. Despite all the difficulties, more than 50% of traffic has been restored. Work is ongoing on the routes to Kupyansk, Izium and Balakliya.
How is Kherson Oblast recovering?
Our troops in the south pushed the enemy to the left bank of the Dnieper River. During the withdrawal, the russians, unfortunately, managed to damage the road infrastructure much more than in the Kharkiv province.
Due to extensive mining, road crews move very slowly, "step by step" behind the bomb squads. However, we have already made two crossings. The first crossing was built a week after the liberation of the province capital – the work run 24/7.
Recently, the president signed the state budget for next year. The big share of expenditures planned for the year 2023 relate to defence and social benefits. In order to provide them, the country needs financial assistance from partner countries and GDP growth. Ukravtodor welcomes the government's expenditure on roads, including reconstruction. Without the stable and efficient functioning of Ukraine's road network, GDP growth of 4.6%, as predicted by the Cabinet of Ministers, will be impossible.
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