Kyiv Building Two of Eight Backup Crossings Across the Dnipro to Launch by Late February

Kyiv has begun construction on the first two of eight planned alternative crossings across the Dnipro River. According to Mykola Kalashnyk, Minister of Restoration, Infrastructure, and Transport, both crossings are scheduled to be operational by the end of February. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Interfax-Ukraine. The new backup crossings are being built in close proximity to existing bridges, which will help redistribute traffic in the event of damage to the primary bridge infrastructure.

What is Being Built and Who is Doing the Work

Construction of the first two bridge crossings is being carried out by Avtomгистраl-South and Autostrada. "We are currently building two bridge crossings out of the eight planned... They are to be launched by the end of February," Minister Kalashnyk stated. Thus, out of the total plan of eight crossings, two are currently underway, while the other six are in the preparation and design stages.

How the Crossings are Designed and Where Materials Come From

The backup crossings are being erected adjacent to and at the same level as the existing bridges. Each crossing will feature a single lane of traffic in each direction. The structures are assembled from prefabricated sections: Ukraine received some of these from American donors and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Negotiations are ongoing to supply an additional 400 meters of structures from France.

Scale: 30–40% of Traffic and 600,000 Crossings Daily

According to the minister's estimates, all eight crossings will be able to handle between 30 and 40% of the traffic currently passing through Kyiv's operating bridges. Approximately 600,000 trips are made across them daily from the left bank to the right. The Northern and Southern bridges are the most congested, which is why backup options are being placed in their zones and near other key crossings.

Project Budget

The budget for the first two crossings is about 4 billion hryvnias. The total cost of the entire eight-crossing project is estimated at 12.5 billion hryvnias. Financing is partially provided by international donors, as evidenced by the sections already received from the US and Japan.

Context: Attacks on Bridges and Government Decision

The government announced the construction of additional crossings in late October. At the time, Kalashnyk explained that Russia is systematically attacking Ukraine's bridge infrastructure, prompting Kyiv to begin building new crossings scheduled to open in early 2027. Previously, the government decided to build backup dams and pontoon crossings across the Dnipro, and is also considering the future construction of a tunnel. Attacks on the capital's bridges continue: the Southern Bridge was damaged on the night of October 27, and traffic across the Northern Bridge was closed following a strike on November 7. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia is preparing strikes on bridges and the energy sector.