Tunnel under the Amur in Khabarovsk

The tunnel under the Amur, photo of which is in this article, is a secret military civil building of Khabarovsk. His characteristics are unique. The tunnel is the only such underwater facility on the territory of Russia. The strategic strength of the structure has not been tried. And the tunnel is used in modern times for peaceful purposes.

Prehistory

Plans for the construction of a railway transportation facility arose as early as the beginning of the twentieth century. The tunnel was planned to be built under the Amur. In 1906, measurements and studies were carried out. On the basis of these works several projects of an underwater tunnel and a bridge over the river appeared.

The projection drawing was presented at the exhibition of the Amur region in Khabarovsk. The event was dedicated to the jubilee date of the Romanovs' house - the tercentenary. On the projection drawing, a train was shown depicting a path under water. But it turned out to be the project of building a bridge across the Amur as the most relevant.

Classification of buildings

In the 1930's. Large-scale construction began in the Far East. This led to an increase in freight traffic along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The railway line, which was built in the 19-20th centuries, required expansion. And in April 1920 the bridge spans were blown up by partisans to block the way for the Japanese. The Trans-Siberian Railway was torn up for five years. The Far East was cut off from Siberia and Russia. And the railway passed through Manchuria.

Therefore, it was decided to build a tunnel under the Amur, since the bridge was very vulnerable due to the military threat from Japan. The future underwater structure was immediately classified and received number 4 of the NKPS. Therefore, this object has not been known for a long time.

Preparation for construction

Before the construction of the underwater tunnel in Khabarovsk, the special expedition from Soyuztransproekt left. The list of researchers included specialists from the Metro Project and the Kuybyshev Military Academy. The territory of construction first had a network of geodetic points. These are metal grades in concrete monoliths.

The work was carried out by three independent brigades. If one of them appeared deviations from the plan, then all three surveyors made corrections. Then the following experts - mine surveyors, worked on the surface. And the axes of the underwater tunnel were laid, tied to the stamps.

All the work was carried out at a rapid pace - in just five months. During the approval of the route, 9 options were considered. The design was carried out by academician Vedeneev and the institute "Metroproekt". Finally, a version was approved that took into account air defense. The construction was to be built half a kilometer from the bridge. The railway tunnel under Amur in Khabarovsk was finally approved in March 1938.

The beginning of the construction of a classified object

According to the decree of the government, in 1937 the construction of a secret structure began, which was called "object No. 4". At that time, often the work began without a general estimate and development of technical projects. And the construction of the tunnel was no exception. The technical design and the general estimate were sent to the site later - in May 1939. 294.5 million rubles were to be spent on the construction of the underwater tunnel. The construction was planned to be commissioned in late 1939.

Who was involved in the construction?

In 1937 tunneling began. It was done by fifteen different construction organizations. Military engineering units were also involved in the work. The tunnel under the Amur River was built under the leadership of the People's Commissar of Communications of the Soviet Union LM Kaganovich. Responsible for the object number 4 was appointed NA Ermolaev. He also became the chief engineer. Ermolaev supervised all the construction works before they were finished.

The installation of all ground structures and the preparation of crushed stone was carried out by railway troops. For the construction of the tunnel, 900 workers of Metrostroi, who have major profile professions, were sent to the facility. ID Gotsiridze was appointed as the head of specialists. Build the tunnel helped civilians local residents. In the quarries, prisoners worked. In total, 5,500 people participated in the creation of the tunnel.

Trunks and laying of the main axis

Before the railway tunnel under the Amur River began to be built, four shaft shafts were first laid. Under them the manufactured shields went down to the design mark. Each barrage was under close scrutiny of three surveyors' brigades. They performed the laying of the main axis of the underwater structure, focusing on the design points.

Features of the construction

The passage was difficult, high accuracy was required. The underwater tunnel was built not from shore to shore, along a straight line, but along a curve, which is even complicated along the vertical. The axes could not coincide by more than five centimeters. A greater deviation from the norm was not allowed. And thanks to the coordinated and accurate work of specialists, the underwater tunnel under the Amur had no more than fifteen millimeters of damage.

The construction of the tunnel was complicated by the fact that in some places the tunnel was heavily watered. But, despite this, the rate of elongation of the hole was almost five meters a day. For those times, these rates were unprecedented for the whole world. At the same time, penetration was made by non-mechanized shields. During the construction, almost 1.5 million cubic meters of soil were taken outside and 137.6 thousand cubic meters of concrete were pumped out.

Change in construction time

In June 1941, the tunnel was completed. In those days, until the completion of the work was required at least six months. But the object was a telegram from the State Committee of Defense behind Stalin's personal signature. The message contained an order to put trains on an underwater tunnel in the shortest possible time. The work was accelerated to the limit. Finally, the scaffolding was dismantled, as well as the temporary access roads. In the ballast workers poured 8000 cubic meters of rubble. And the main way was prepared. The tunnel under the Amur in Khabarovsk was ready for work.

Opening of the tunnel for operation

Stalin was specifically designated the period after which the construction was to be put into operation - 20.06.1941. The builders had time, on the indicated date the first train, in which workers and bosses were stationed, passed by an underwater tunnel. The train was operated by the engineer V. Vozheyko.

On 25.04.1942 the commission from the government took the tunnel into operation on an ongoing basis. At the same time, the inspectors rated the structure as good, and the work of surveyors was excellent. The length of the tunnel under the Amur was 7198 meters. For normal operation, it was equipped with heating, ventilation and lighting. Clearly pumped water, security and warning signaling.

On the eastern side of it there are three faces that were made in an open way over a section of 1,350 m. The inner diameter of the underwater part of the tunnel is 7400 mm. The eastern part of the structure was in the line of Khabarovsk, the western part near the Post-Pokrovsky station.

For those times the tunnel was built at the level of the most advanced military technologies. The structure had a great safety margin. It has 7 ventilation shafts. One is on the island, the rest - on both banks of the Amur. Therefore, the tunnel has survived for decades. And is still in working order.

The Times of the Great Patriotic War

During the Second World War, all entrances and approaches to the underwater tunnel were carefully guarded. For this purpose, in addition to roadblocks, anti-aircraft batteries were installed. One of them was on the bank of the Frenzied Channel. The battery fighter Lelikov subsequently told that a message came from his post about an unknown plane that was heading toward the bridge. The alarm sounded, the anti-aircraft battery was immediately charged with live ammunition.

After a short time the plane appeared in the field of view. Perhaps he was looking for entrances to the tunnel under the Amur. First, the aircraft was monitored by observers. But the air car, not reaching the accessible fire range of the "antiaircraft guns", turned toward Manchukuo. The fighting gun had to be discharged. Therefore, from the antiaircraft gun, after all, one volley was made.

Operation of an underwater tunnel in the war years

From 1944 to 1945, the tunnel transported mainly cargo destined for the war with Japan. Then the submarine railway was adapted to miss military units and all types of transport. When the fighting was over, the tunnel was conserved as a secret object. Zhd-tunnel under the Cupid was guarded by armed fighters with dogs.

The use of the tunnel in the postwar years

Since 1960, the underwater railway has been used to transport various cargoes to increase the capacity of the Amur bridge. Since the tunnel has only one path, the movement was directed only to one side - to the west. In 1980, the Far Eastern railway line of Khabarovsk-Bira was electrified. After that, the passenger train began to travel along the tunnel, including suburban ones.

Tunnel in modern times

In modern times, the railway tunnel under the Amur requires major repairs. The building was intensively used for fifty years. The tunnel is a unique object that needs to be maintained. At the time of construction, the structure was the longest underwater railway in the world.

Despite the fact that the tunnel requires major repairs, the facility remains as secure and reliable as before. The movement of trains is uninterrupted. And small defects do not violate the integrity of the tunnel. In 2009, the Amur bridge was reconstructed. Since that year it consists of two paths.

The tunnel under the Amur for a long time began to collapse. In many places there was a small leak. The trunks of the mines began to rot. More and more debris and ballast accumulate in the tunnel. The size of the structure needs to be changed. And now in the plans of the builders - a major overhaul of a unique underwater tunnel. Therefore, reconstruction projects are already being prepared. Soon, will be a grand repair, which will correct the situation for the better.