Vienna Trucker life in southern Russia is currently even less of a bed of roses than in normal times. Since the bridge to Crimea was damaged, presumably by a Ukrainian attack, the trucks have been standing in long columns on the Russian mainland, waiting. There is even less traffic than usual on Thursday as strong winds hamper the handful of ferries that now do most of the transport across the Kerch Strait.
At least the drivers sharing via a Telegram chat group haven’t lost their sense of humor. “I don’t understand why they use fuel and people for ferries when they let everyone cross the bridge anyway,” Wowka etches. He is referring to the propaganda of the Russian government, which is doing everything it can to minimize the damage.
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin’s claim on Tuesday that 40-ton trucks could drive across the Crimean Bridge without waiting became a running gag among those waiting. “But this information didn’t get through to the bridge,” jokes Nikolai. The user anutkinboy has already resigned. “We have to wait another 100 years. They said they would open the bridge in three days.”
In any case, the bridge is still a long way from normal operation almost two weeks after the explosion with four deaths. On the morning of October 8, the truck bomb not only destroyed two lanes of the freeway over a length of 250 meters, but also severely damaged the parallel railway line: Nine tank trucks for fuel caught fire, the flames blazed for at least an hour.
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Moscow reported the resumption of traffic on two out of four motorway lanes and a “timetabled” railway service within one day. But the truckers’ telegram chat paints a different picture: cars without a load quickly cross the bridge, while those with luggage are carefully checked first. While passenger buses are allowed to drive, small trucks are only selectively allowed through.
Trains must slow down before the bridge
Larger vehicles must board the ferries, with priority given to those carrying perishable, essential, or strategic items. The capacity is limited: According to the Ministry of Transport, the boats transported almost 13,000 passengers and 4,000 vehicles between October 9th and 16th – a fraction of the traffic volume on the motorway.
First, freight traffic collapsed, now it only flows to a limited extent.
(Photo: IMAGO/SNA)
There can also be no question of regular railway operations: As the newspaper “Kommersant” writes, only one pair of rails is passable. In addition, the trains would have to slow down to 40 kilometers per hour at the site of the explosion. This is done for safety reasons, according to experts, to minimize the vibrations that could cause the structure to collapse.
“First of all, we need to speed up the repair of the railway part of the bridge,” Chuznullin said recently. 250 men, 30 pieces of heavy equipment and two floating cranes are already in use today. “We will have completed the main work by the end of the year,” says the government politician with confidence. However, the repairs would last until July 2023, he added vaguely, which leaves some room for interpretation – especially since the approaching winter and bad weather are likely to make the work significantly more difficult.
The continued operation of the bridge has top priority for Russia, although it remains unclear how serious the structural damage really is. In order to determine this, extensive investigations would be necessary, for which there is no time given the war against Ukraine. However, the restrictions on the weight of vehicles and trains suggest that Moscow is aware of the risk.
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The limited transport capacity via the most important connection to the Crimea and the Russian southern front leads to civil and military supply problems. For the army, the primary concern is the reduced number of freight cars: Ukrainian military expert Dmitro Snegirov estimates that before the explosion, fifty railroad cars carrying ammunition and war equipment crossed the bridge every day. Since then, Moscow has provided precise information about the passenger trains in operation, but those about the freight trains remain sparse. However, they are likely to be heavily reduced and run with lighter loads.
For truck drivers, the transfer becomes a test of patience.
(Photo: AP)
Observers evaluating satellite images from the region note that the military is switching to other means of transport. Army trucks were transported on at least one ferry. The analysts of The War Zone also point to a sharp increase in the number of take-offs and landings of large transport aircraft at the Jankoi airbase in Crimea, which is located near Kherson.
In order to relieve the Crimean Bridge bottleneck, the authorities recommend truck drivers an alternative route through the “new territories”. This is what the Russians call the forcibly annexed regions of Zaporizhia and Cherson.
It runs almost 400 kilometers from Taganrog via Mariupol and Melitopol to the peninsula. Chusnullin announced that this path is completely problem-free, even if the road is still being repaired on some sections. You are only allowed to stop at officially designated rest areas.
The structure, which is strategically important for Russia, was severely damaged by the explosion.
(Photo: AP)
The truckers on Telegram, on the other hand, report an unpleasant journey. “I don’t feel like it anymore,” says a certain Yevgeny Semenov. The road between Crimea and the city of Melitopol is in a catastrophic condition. Others report broken gas stations and a lack of cell phone coverage. There are also safety concerns: “It seems to me that it’s too dangerous to drive through there,” says user Schwez_Danil. Others worry that the newly introduced martial law will make passage impossible. According to initial reports, however, this is still possible.
However, none of the almost 1,000 members of the channel ever called the war by its name. At this point at the latest, the reader of the chat will become aware of the parallel world in which the discussions among the truck drivers are taking place. They worry about their perishable goods and the money they lose because of delays while war rages just a few dozen kilometers to the north. Should the Ukrainians advance further, however, the alternative routes should also come into their sights.
More: Explosion on Crimean bridge – security circles suspect Ukrainian attack