For whom are they going to build a huge cable-stayed bridge in Minsk?

Visualization of the preliminary design of the cable-stayed bridge. Photo: BeldorNDI

During the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Frunzenski district, "BeldorNDI" presented sketches of a cable-stayed bridge as a possible object for implementation in the capital. This district does not have access to Svislach or other wide bodies of water that would require the construction of a bridge of this type; the institute itself is simply located within the district.

Engineering structures of this type, where the roadbed is supported by steel cables and high pylons, are characterized by extreme resistance to heavy loads and wind. Cable-stayed bridges are superior to suspension and beam counterparts for spanning medium and large distances; they are quick and economical to construct, though more complex in calculations and design. Moreover, they often become architectural accents in cities.

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Visualization of the preliminary design of the cable-stayed bridge. Photo: BeldorNDI

Previously, there was no need to span huge distances in Minsk at all, as the capital has neither wide rivers nor deep ravines, and railway overpasses can simply be laid on the necessary number of supports.

Six New Crossings over Svislach

The master plan of Minsk, which underwent public discussion in 2025, includes the construction of at least six new bridges across the Svislach river. Some of them are clearly defined, while others can be inferred from indirect details of the master plan.

Four of them are concentrated in the southern part of the city. The projects envision transport links between Loshytsa and Serabranka via the connection of Stanislaw Maniushka and Malinina streets, the extension of Plekhanov Street to Mayakovsky Street slightly north of Loshytsa Park, as well as two bridges connecting Yakubava Street with Dzyanisawskaya and the territory of the former village of Stalovaya.

The Svislach, the only river in the city, a crossing over which might require significant engineering exploration, is quite narrow in the mentioned locations. The construction of massive pylons with a complex system of cables there is in no way justified.

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Drozdy Reservoir on a satellite image. Photo: Google Maps

Two more crossings are planned in the northern part of the capital. One bridge is to appear in the Drozdy area, and the second will be an extension of Ratamskaya Street, connecting the southern bank of Drozdy Reservoir with the northern one.

It is in the latter case that the width of the water surface is so large, about 600 meters, making the construction of a cable-stayed bridge with three large spans technically feasible and visually impressive.

Infrastructure for "Northern Shore"

Today, on the northern shore of Drozdy Reservoir, there are fertile agricultural lands that were long considered untouchable. Domestic developers could only drool over this prime piece of land within the city, as the allocation of such lands for housing was permitted only under personal responsibility and exclusively for "super-investment projects."

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316 hectares of agricultural land north of Drozdy Reservoir, which were reclassified by Lukashenka's decree into a multi-apartment residential development zone. Photo: from the decree

Everything changed at the end of 2020, when an investor from the United Arab Emirates appeared. By personal decree of Lukashenka, over a thousand hectares were excluded from the landscape-recreational zone and agricultural lands, almost all of which were allocated for multi-apartment residential development. The megaproject was named "Northern Shore."

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Detailed planning project for the "Northern Shore" area. Photo: from project documentation

It was officially stated that the Emirati company Emaar Properties, led by businessman Mohamed Alabbar, would invest four billion dollars in creating a high-tech "smart city." However, very quickly, behind this brilliant facade, the outlines of the developer "Emirates Blue Sky," the former company "Zomex Investment," closely associated with Dana Holdings, well-known to Belarusians, began to emerge.

Specifically, regarding the part located directly north of Drozdy Reservoir, 316 hectares of former arable land were reclassified into a multi-apartment development zone there.

It is this new gigantic district, where the construction of tens of thousands of apartments is planned, that the cable-stayed bridge is intended to connect with one of the main city arteries — Pobediteley Avenue, and further with large residential areas in the western part of the city. The crossing over the reservoir was already reflected in the detailed planning project for "Northern Shore," approved back in autumn 2022.

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Part of "Northern Shore" designed on the northern bank of Drozdy Reservoir with a bridge across it. Photo: from project documentation

True, urban development plans usually mean little and constantly change, but when a specialized design institute took on the sketches, the situation looks much more realistic.

It can be assumed that the implementation of a complex engineering object is part of the developer's investment program, who needs to ensure convenient transport accessibility for their new neighborhoods.

From an urban planning perspective, this bridge will become a key element of a transport artery that will semi-circle encompass the entire western part of Minsk. For the implementation of this highway, an overpass over the railway is already being constructed today, which is intended to connect Ratamskaya Street with Kolesnikova Street in Kamennaya Gorka.

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