Pursuant to the decision of the National Security and Defence Council enacted by the Decree of the President of Ukraine, the first meeting of the Commission for Inspection of Bridge Structures was held. It was chaired by Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

“The Commission’s task is to determine the actual transport and operational condition of road bridges on public roads and railway bridge structures. The primary focus of the inspection is on large and complex facilities with high traffic intensity. Maintaining such facilities in good condition and monitoring their safe operation is an investment in Ukraine’s defence capability and economy,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The first meeting approved the criteria for determining the list of bridges to be inspected:

• Operational condition of the bridge structure.
• Actual traffic intensity.
• Length.
• Category of the facility where the bridge structure is located.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, the State Border Guard Service, the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety, the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Development, the State Emergency Service, regional and Kyiv city military administrations, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, and experts from SE DerzhdorNDI.

By 10 July 2023, the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, regional state administrations, the Kyiv City State Administration and Ukrzaliznytsia will have to submit initial technical information on all bridge structures on their balance sheets to further determine the list of bridges to be inspected in accordance with the approved criteria.

As of 2023, there are about 28,500 road and railway bridges in Ukraine. According to SE 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 bridges have been destroyed or damaged as a result of hostilities.