Pursuant to the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of 23 June 2023, the Government has established a Commission to inspect the condition of bridges in Ukraine. The Commission is headed by Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

The commission’s task is to check the operational condition of road bridges on public roads and railway bridge structures. The list of priority bridges to be inspected will be determined by the Commission.

“Maintaining bridges in good condition is first and foremost a matter of basic safety for the people who use them. During martial law, bridges became an important element of the country’s defence capability, as well as routes for humanitarian evacuation and export logistics. Our task now is to determine the actual technical condition of the structures. After that, we will work with the balance holders (city and regional administrations) to find ways to solve the problems. I believe that security and defence capability should be the top priority for the authorities at all levels,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The commission will include representatives of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety, the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Development, the State Emergency Service, and the regional and Kyiv city military administrations.

How will the commission work?

In order to determine the technical condition of the bridges, the following activities are planned:

• analysis of primary technical and operational documentation;
• inspection and survey of structures;
• determining the actual strength of the materials of bridge elements;
• carrying out load capacity verification calculations;
• determining the actual safety characteristics of the elements.

The results of the bridge inspection will be entered into the Analytical Expert Bridge Management System to formulate further steps for their rehabilitation.

As of 2023, there are about 28,500 road and railway bridges in Ukraine.

According to specialised research institute DerzhdorNDI, the average age of most road bridges is more than 60 years, and more than 30% of bridges are in critical condition. About 350 have been destroyed or damaged as a result of the fighting.