EU-Funded Bridge Opens in the Leningrad Region

The bridge across the Storozhevaya River towards Svetogork, a city on the border of Finland, has opened in the Leningrad Region, a spokesperson for the regional government told RIA Novosti. The bridge was financed by the EU, among other organisations.

"Our cross-border cooperation with Finland goes back twenty years. During this time, we have implemented over 25 projects, of which two major projects are nearing completion. One of them is the bridge across the Storozhevaya River, which we are opening today, and the other is the renovation of the customs and border-crossing point Svetogorsk, which will be completed by the end of the year," Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region,  said at the inauguration ceremony of the bridge.

The opening of the bridge will eliminate the accident-prone section of this road, that’s associated with the old bridge, the governor noted. "The old bridge failed to meet safety requirements since it was completed in 1973," Mr Drozdenko said.

He noted that the region’s relations with Finland have passed the test of time and were very useful for the Leningrad Region.

Taina Susiluoto, Director General, Regional Department, Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland, noted that the opening of the bridge across the Storozhevaya River would make the trip from St Petersburg to Helsinki faster.

"Russia is a major trading partner of Finland and will remain so, despite the current tensions in the world," the Finnish official said.

The new bridge across the Storozhevaya River was designed in 2003. Construction began in 2006, but the design had to be revised in the course of the project due to the extremely difficult hydrogeological conditions of the area.

The work resumed after securing funding from the Southeast Finland-Russia cross-border partnership programme of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument in 2012.

The project received 6.08 million euros in financing from the Southeast Finland – Russia programme. The overall construction cost is expected to total 7.6 million euros, with 20 percent of the funding provided by the regional government. The Road Maintenance Committee of the Leningrad Region is the project’s main partner. The project was commissioned by Lenavtodor Motorway Administration, and General Construction Corporation is the main contractor.

Reconstruction of the bridge has been underway since 2013. The contract is worth a total of 334.9 million roubles, including the 220.5 million rouble grant from the cross-border cooperation programme.

The final instalment of the grant in the amount of about 70 million roubles will be allocated in 2015.

The Southeast Finland-Russia cross-border cooperation programme of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument has financed 25 projects in the Leningrad Region, having provided a total of 27.5 million euros in grants.