This week, the first trucks containing bridges donated by Norway have begun arriving in Ukraine and installation is taking place of one of three bridges that arrived from France last month.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has offered to donate 10 bridges with a total value of about US$3 million. The Norwegian bridges will be installed in liberated territories in Ukraine. They are temporary structures but are designed to be suitable for heavy vehicles including trucks carrying humanitarian aid, ambulances and fire trucks.

Norway is the third country to send supplies to Ukraine for the restoration of road infrastructure. Temporary bridges have already been received from the Czech Republic and France. Roads ministry Ukravtodor is also expecting bridges from Sweden and another batch of temporary crossings from the Czech Republic.

This week, Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry has published photographs (below) showing the installation of one of three bridges from France. The three bridges arrived in Ukraine in December as a gift provided to Ukravtodor by French state humanitarian operator CDCS.

Installation of temporary bridge manufactured by Matiere and provided to Ukraine

Above: Installation in Ukraine of a bridge manufactured by Matière

European partners ordered the structures from Matière, which manufactured them to the parameters required by Ukraine. The three bridges have lengths of 68m, 34.2m and 23m. They are being installed on main state roads in the Chernihiv region.

Installation of temporary bridge manufactured by Matiere and provided to Ukraine

Above: The three French bridges are being installed on main state roads in the Chernihiv region.

“The bridges provided by France will be used to improve the mobility of the population in Chernihiv region,” Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said last month. “The priority is their arrangement on those sections of roads on which the humanitarian situation in the region critically depends. We are working with our international partners to increase the number of such bridges in the de-occupied regions.

“I am grateful to the minister of transport of France Clément Beaune, the Embassy of France in Ukraine, partners from the French state operator CDCS and the Matière company for prompt and effective cooperation. We continue to work together to assess the damage and determine the priority needs for reconstruction.”