Russia's bridge to Crimea might have just gotten $50 million pricier

The foundation procured to build an earth embankment for Russia’s bridge to Crimea might need to be replaced at a cost of as much as 2.9 billion rubles ($49.8 million), according to Rostislav Shkurko, the general director of “Lenpromtransproekt,” a contractor on the project. Shkurko says new drilling has revealed errors in studies previously conducted by the company “Krymsetenerproekt,” and it now appears that the foundation procured to build a landfill is unsuitable for the job.

Officials have decided to replace the landfill with an appropriate foundation, rather than try to reinforce it. The new materials alone will cost an estimated 500 million rubles ($8.6 million), and additional work on electrification, alarm systems, and transportation safety could bring the final additional price tag up to 2.9 billion rubles.

The bridge’s general contractor, “Stroygazmontazh,” says the changes will not delay the bridge’s grand launch, which is scheduled to open to cars in late 2018. The total cost of the bridge is estimated to be greater than 240 billion rubles ($4.1 billion).