The Russian president attended the official opening ceremony of the unprecedented bridge, which linked Russia and Crimea peninsula. In his speech on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin said that 19km bridge would accommodate 14 million people a year, RT reported.
Mr Putin has demonstrated to the world a new unbelievable construction like the 19-km-long bridge, which is bringing Crimea and Russia “closer to each other” and allowing the peninsula to grow at a “new economic tempo”. On May 15, 2018, Russia did this despite all the critics. The opening of the Crimean Bridge comes a day before automobile traffic will be allowed.
The Russian leader congratulated people from both sides of the bridge on this historic holiday. Putin thanked workers for their enthusiasm and added,
“It’s historic because in different epochs, back in the times of our father the tsar, people dreamed about building this bridge. Finally thanks to your talent and work, this project, this wonder, has been completed,”
the Russian president said on live television at the other end.
The bridge’s resident moggie Mostik, who has become famous after living with the construction team, said he will open the bridge along with the builders and Vladimir Putin.
New Kerch bridge will bring Russia and Crimea closer
On May 15, Europe’s longest, most controversial bridge between mainland Russia and Crimea is being officially opened, next day the first automobiles from Russian Krasnodar can reach Crimea directly. For Russian engineers, Kerch bridge is one of the most complex and ambitious projects.
The four lanes of automobile traffic that open to the public on Wednesday will be joined next year by a railway, at a total cost of £2.7 billion.
President Putin, whose approval ratings have remained above 80 percent since the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, personally oversaw the project. All the construction phases were finished just in time.
Ukraine has slammed the construction by the ‘the Russian occupation forces’, while Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov warned:
‘We are constantly expecting provocations from Ukraine but believe me, we are highly ready to resist any attacks’.
