Published on: 2026-09-16
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Sergey Sobyanin opened a pedestrian bridge on the Bolotnaya Embankment under the Small Stone Bridge.
“The idea arose — instead of crossing the Small Stone Bridge, to pass under it via a pedestrian bridge and connect Bolotnaya Square, Bolotnaya Embankment, and the square in front of ‘Udarniyk’ and ‘GES-2’ into a single pedestrian space. From there, one can go to Yakimanskaya Embankment, Gorky Park, Vorobyovy Gory, and so on. In other words, a large space — good, interesting,” noted Sergey Sobyanin.
A pedestrian bridge about 170 meters long and 5.4 meters wide, built across the Vodootvodny Canal channel, has connected the sections of Bolotnaya Embankment separated by Serafimovich Street. As a result, the walking distance from Bolotnaya Square to the Udarnik cinema and the GES-2 Cultural Center has been almost halved — from 300–375 to 150–230 meters.
“Walking through the city center will become even more convenient. A walk across the bridge will take about one and a half minutes — this is faster than the old, detour route. We expect that during the most demanded hours, the new structure will be used by more than 1,500 people per hour,” wrote Sergey Sobyanin in
Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s channel in in the messenger “Max”
The construction of the bridge completes the creation of a unified pedestrian route along the right bank of the Moskva River from the Taras Shevchenko embankment through Vorobyovy Gory, Gorky Park, the Crimean embankment to Balchug Island.
What to name the new pedestrian bridge passing under the Malyy Kamenniy will be decided by Muscovites in a new vote of the project «Active Citizen“. Residents will be invited to associate the name either with the Russian artist Ilya Repin, whose monument is located in the nearby square (Repin Bridge), or with the historic cinema ‘Udarnik’ (Udarnik Bridge). They will be able to vote for one of these options or entrust the decision to specialists.
You can descend from the embankment to the bridge via two inclined ramps, which is convenient for people with limited mobility and parents with baby strollers. In addition, there are two staircases leading to the Small Stone Bridge.
The bridge’s railing is made of stainless steel. At night, the supports of the bridge crossing and the railings are decorated with architectural and artistic lighting. Thus, another unique art object on the water has appeared in the center of Moscow.
Bridge construction
A distinctive feature of the project implementation was the necessity to use a technology for construction and installation works from water, which is rare for Moscow. For this purpose, a temporary flotilla was formed: small and large icebreaking-type tugs, barges of various load capacities for placing construction materials, as well as wheeled and tracked machinery: cranes, excavators, concrete pumps, vibratory rollers. The former were needed to break the ice and move the barges to the construction zone, and the latter — directly for performing the work. The dimensions of the vessels allowed for operations in conditions of limited underwater space.
At the first stage, a 150-meter enclosure (barrier) was created in the bed of the Vodootvodny Canal using sheet piles — metal piles with hooks — and big bags (sandbags).
The driving of sheet piles was carried out by an excavator equipped with a special vibro-driving attachment. The work was carried out from a barge with a lifting capacity of 200 tons. In areas where engineering communications were located, the cofferdam was created by divers using big bags. They were lowered by the excavator on the barge, as well as from the shore by a 50-ton crane. About 170 sheet piles and approximately 1,500 big bags were used during the construction.
As the enclosure was being formed, specialists constructed an artificial embankment-dam along the Vodootvodny Canal (from Repinsky Square to the GES-2 House of Culture) and under the Small Stone Bridge. This required more than 12 thousand cubic meters of sand.
“All this made it possible to carry out the work in confined spaces, minimize the size of the construction site, and avoid blocking traffic along the embankment,” Sergei Sobyanin specified in
Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s channel on in the messenger “Max”
Then they proceeded to install bored piles. According to the applied technology, a casing pipe was inserted into the pre-drilled borehole, into which a reinforced cage was lowered, and concrete was poured. After that, the grillages and foundation slabs were assembled, on which 20 supports were installed: 16 of them were placed on the grillages, and four on the foundation slabs. In the final stage, the span structures of the future bridge were mounted.
In addition, the area around Repinsky Square was improved: a small section of tiles was renewed, seating areas were designated on the retaining wall, and lindens, lilacs, and hydrangeas were planted.
Sobyanin has launched the construction of a pedestrian bridge on the Bolotnaya EmbankmentCommunal Services specialists have begun preparing surfaces and laying cables for the lighting of the Little Stone BridgeThe span structures of the new pedestrian bridge have been installed on Bolotnaya Embankment
Improvement of Balchug Island
In recent years, Government of Moscow has carried out extensive work on the comprehensive improvement of Balchug Island, which covered Repinsky Square (Bolotnaya Square), Sofiyskaya, Raushskaya, Sadovnicheskaya, Kosmodamianskaya Embankments, Sadovnicheskaya Street, 1st and 2nd Raushskye, Faleevsky, Komissariatsky and Sadovnicheskie Lanes. The total area of the work exceeded 35 hectares, and the length of the improved streets amounted to 8.9 kilometers.
Although Balchug is just a stone’s throw from the Kremlin and Zaryadye, the island faced an urgent need for improvement: there was little greenery on the streets, and the narrow and sometimes damaged sidewalks caused inconvenience for pedestrians. It was uncomfortable for everyone: local residents, hotel guests, office workers, and music lovers coming to concerts at the Moscow International House of Music.
The main idea of the improvement of Balchug was to conditionally divide the urban space into historical and modern parts.
The sidewalks inside the island — on Sadovnicheskaya Street, in the alleys, and along the buildings on the embankments — are mainly used by locals and office workers. During the renovation, they were tidied up and resting spots with classic Moscow benches were added.
Muscovites and tourists stroll along the embankments, riding scooters and bicycles. The urban space here is now designed to be more vibrant and modern.
Some of the new Balchug streetlights are designed in a modern minimalist style. Others resemble old gas lamps. The parapets of the embankments are highlighted using special lighting.
The island has become greener: about 600 new trees and 11,500 shrubs were planted, along with lawns and flower beds. Among the new greenery are European linden ‘pallida’, red maples, elm ‘lobel’, ornamental apple trees, rowans, cotoneasters, and white dogwoods.
Special attention was given to the landscaping of Repinsky Square — a large green area in Balchug, created for Moscow’s 800th anniversary. The existing trees were preserved as much as possible, and additional greenery was added based on archival situational plans. The new lanterns, benches, and trash bins were designed in the style of the late 1940s.
The jewel of the renewed Balchug Island is the “GES-2” House of Culture on Bolotnaya Embankment, opened in December 2021 by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
A pedestrian zone has been created next to the historic building of “GES-2”, connecting the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour with Yakimanka. From the Patriarchal Bridge, you can descend to the Bolotnaya Embankment and sit by the water.
In July 2024, a pedestrian bridge over the Vodootvodny Canal of the Moscow River was opened, connecting the tip of Balchug Island and the Krymskaya Embankment.
In September 2026, Sergey Sobyanin opened the under-bridge passage on Bolotnaya Embankment — a pedestrian space beneath the Malyy Kamenniy Bridge.
Currently, the “Udarник” cinema is being restored on the island, and the facades of the historic House on the embankment are being repaired.
The landscaping of Balchug Island is one of the largest projects aimed at creating a high-quality urban space in the center of Moscow.
Sobyanin: Restoration of the “Udarniк” cinema will be completed in 2027
New pedestrian bridges in Moscow
From 2022 to 2025, six pedestrian bridges were built in Moscow:
— across the Yauza River as part of the Elektrozavodskaya transport hub (111 meters), near the N.E. Bauman Moscow State Technical University (243 meters), and in the Budayskaya Street area (78 meters);
— across the Tsyganka River as part of the construction of the Voskresenskoye — Karakashevo — Shcherbinka highway (14 meters);
— via the Vodootvodny Canal of the Moscow River, connecting the tip of Balchug Island and the Krymskaya Embankment (58 meters);
— via Nagatinsky backwater (219 meters).
Plans for 2026–2028 include the construction of two more pedestrian bridges:
— across the Moskva River to Ostrovnaya Street, it will connect the Mnevniki floodplain with the Krylatskoye district (225 meters);
— across the Moskva River towards Fili Park, which will connect the park and the Mnevniki Floodplain (200 meters).
The Mayor of Moscow spoke about the construction of pedestrian bridges in the Mnevniki floodplainSobyanin: The construction of the bridge to Fili Park is planned to be completed in 2026
To learn how the capital has changed over recent years, what initiatives aimed at making residents’ lives even more comfortable are currently being implemented, and what awaits Moscow and its inhabitants in the near future, one can consult a large-scale special project on the portal mos.ru, dedicated to the development of key areas of Moscow. These include transport, industry, healthcare, education, sports, and the construction sector.
On the page “Architecture and Construction” information about the large-scale renovation of the capital over the past 16 years is presented. Here you can learn about the construction of roads and rail backbone stations, as well as the creation of transfer hubs. Special attention is given to renovation program, and one can also learn about the restoration of iconic landmarks of the capital, in particular the House of Culture «GES-2», the Northern River Terminal, and VDNH.
Subscribe to Sergey Sobyanin’s official channels in messengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
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