Geological exploration for construction of a bridge between the Crimea
and the Caucasus will start in August 2011, deputy head of the Federal
Agency for Car Transport Sergey Potapov said, RIA Novosti reports.
Russia and Ukraine renewed work on the bridge in early 2010, when
Victor Yanukovych became the President of Ukraine. The bridge needs to
be ready in 2014 for the Sochi Olympic Games. It will run across the
Kerch Strait and will be 4.2 km long. The project will cost 24 billion
rubles. A model of the bridge was demonstrated to Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Victor Yanukovych.
Potapov told a parliamentary session on Thursday that the final
version of the bridge will be determined next year. A contest will
start in August.
