Paton Bridge in Kyiv requires urgent solutions – National Academy of Sciences

The technical condition of the Evgeny Paton Bridge in Kyiv is causing serious concern among specialists, states Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and First Vice President of the Academy, Viacheslav Bohdanov.

"According to the V.M. Shymanovsky Ukrainian Institute of Steel Structures and the E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, more than 28,000 bridges and overpasses are operated in Ukraine, many of which are overloaded. While railway bridges are under constant control, road and municipal structures often do not meet modern safety requirements, and a unified system of technical supervision effectively does not exist," the NASU statement reads.

The situation is particularly difficult in Kyiv, where survey results show: the Darnytsky Bridge is operational; the Northern and Southern bridges are of limited operability; and the Metro Bridge and Paton Bridge are recognized as non-operational (emergency), with the Paton Bridge having held emergency status since 2017.

"Specialists are most concerned about the technical condition of the Paton Bridge. According to recent surveys, critical corrosion damage to load-bearing elements, main and transverse beams, as well as cracks in the connections of the belts and walls of the main beams have been recorded in its structures. In fact, the metal of the transverse beams supporting the roadway slabs has corroded almost entirely. The main beams, four of them, currently remain in a relatively stable state, which likely allows the bridge to carry traffic flows, albeit with restrictions," the Academy explained.

According to scientists, the remaining resource of the structure is estimated at zero, and corrosion processes are becoming increasingly unpredictable.

At the beginning of 2026, the National Committee of Ukraine on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics appealed to the government with proposals for the organization and financing of a capital repair of the bridge.

"In the opinion of specialists, the issue of restoring the bridge is long overdue and requires a systemic state decision," the NASU reported, publishing photos showing cross-sectional corrosion of horizontal ties and the destruction of a transverse beam at one of the supports as of 2018.

As reported, in August 2024, the Kyiv city authorities appealed to Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers with a demand to urgently restore the Paton Bridge over the Dnipro River to avoid emergency situations.