NGO "Vision Zero" has published an analytical report "Bridges in Ukraine: Crisis, Problems, Solutions". Author: Viktor Zagreba – founder and chairman of the board of NGO "Vision Zero", a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy (USA, 2013).
The report critically analyzes the state of Ukraine's bridge infrastructure, highlighting key problems and proposing solutions. One of the main challenges is the aging infrastructure: almost half of the 28,500 bridges were built before 1964, leading to accelerated deterioration and an increasing number of unusable structures. The main problems include ineffective planning decisions, inflated costs due to excessive solutions and outdated norms, irrational use of funding, as well as corruption and a system of interests distorted by corruption.
Download links:
Policy Paper «Bridges in Ukraine: Crisis, Problems, Solutions» (English language, PDF, 58 pages)
Pilicy Paper Аналітичний звіт «Мости в Україні: криза, проблеми, рішення» (Ukrainian, PDF, 58 pages)
Executive Summary (English, PDF, 4 pages)
Резюме / Executive Summary (Ukrainian, PDF, 5 pages)
The report describes in detail the policy problems resulting in insufficient levels of operational maintenance and the incomplete transition to Eurostandards, which isolates the Ukrainian market. At the same time, Ukraine has a strong engineering school and significant practical experience, which creates a solid foundation for further improvements. The document concludes with strategic recommendations, including the need to set realistic priorities, ensure quality planning, harmonize with EU norms, reorient towards maintaining existing facilities instead of new constructions, and integrate into the single European market.
Architect and publicist Oleg Grechukh played a significant role in the research, with his work serving as a basis for further analysis. The author also expresses gratitude to the engineers who agreed to be interviewed, and whose opinions and quotes became an important part of this analytical report (in alphabetical order): Anna Hontarenko, Anna Miniukova, Volodymyr Semko (Poland), Dmytro Bespalov, Kostiantyn Shcherbachenko, Krzysztof Wachalski (Poland), Michael Bornmann (Germany), Serhiy Rud, Yuriy Lototsky.
Special thanks for the comments, suggestions, and corrections that made this analytical report more accurate: Anna Hontarenko – Association "Ukrainian Center of Steel Construction", Artem Bezugly and the team of SE "National Institute of the Development of Infrastructure" (NIDI), Kostiantyn Shcherbachenko – Ukrainian Association of Road Safety Auditors, Oleksandr Kordun – Ukrainian Institute of Steel Structures named after V.M. Shymanovsky.
Links to the Policy Paper and the Executive Summary in Ukrainian and English:
