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Crimean Bridge

bridge connecting Russia's Krasnodar Krai with Crimea

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The Crimean Bridge is a bridge that connects Russia's Krasnodar Krai region to Crimea, linking the Russian mainland with the peninsula. It matters because it serves as a major transportation route between Russia and Crimea following Russia's 2014 annexation of the peninsula.

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The Crimean Bridge (Russian: Крымский мост, romanised: Krymskiy most, IPA: [ˈkrɨmskʲij most]; Ukrainian: Кримський міст, romanised: Krymskyi mist), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after its illegal annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (€3.23 billion) and has a length of 19 km (12 mi), making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.

In January 2015 the multibillion-dollar construction contract for the bridge was awarded to Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh. Construction began in February 2016. The road bridge was inaugurated by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 15 May 2018. It opened for cars on 16 May and for trucks on 1 October. The rail bridge was inaugurated on 23 December 2019 and the first scheduled passenger train crossed the bridge two days later. The bridge was opened for freight trains on 30 June 2020. A record amount of traffic, totalling 36,393 cars, was recorded on 15 August 2020.