Regional Governor Andrej Chibis announced on Friday June 19, that a bypass has been successfully completed so that trains can return to the city of Murmansk. In just 18 days, 5.7 km of new railway tracks were built, Chibis told reporters at a media meeting.
“A strictly organized, sometimes complicated and smooth undertaking with the full dedication of all involved has enabled us to restore rail links with the city in the north as soon as possible,” the governor said in a statement.
The bypass line was built to overcome the traffic congestion caused by the collapse of an important railway bridge over the Kola River. Since the collapse of the bridge on June 1, logistics in the region had been paralysed and put the port of Murmansk in a state of crisis. Several of the largest industrial companies in the region are heavily dependent on the railway for the delivery of goods. The condition prompted the regional authorities to declare a state of emergency on June 12.
To support the work, military units rushed to speed up the work. The bypass will remain in operation until construction of a new bridge is expected to be completed in October 2020.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
