“Golden” cobblestones in the center of Kyiv: people were outraged by the large-scale repairs during the war

TSN.ua learned the details.

In Kyiv, cobblestones are being repaired on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street. She has already been nicknamed “golden” in social networks.
Ukrainians write that the repair of the cobblestones costs 300 million hryvnias, others say that it will cost 8 million dollars.

He said that with this money you could buy 1,600 cars for the front. Others are outraged that during the war, the road services simply destroy the historic cobblestones.

TSN.ua found out how much it actually costs to replace the cobblestones on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street and how long the repairs will take.

Traffic is currently restricted along Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street from Khreschatyk to Volodymyrska. There are only two free lanes, so there are huge traffic jams.

How much will the repair cost?

As we were told by the municipal corporation “Kyivavtodor”, on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street, subsidence of the cobblestones was discovered and ruts appeared, which were formed due to excessive exploitation of the cobblestones without repair – the base of the street under the cobblestones sank.

Since the 1950s, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street has not been renovated on such a large scale.

“The cost of repairing the cobblestones on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street is 12 million hryvnias. Everything is done in-house, the workers of the road maintenance departments work. We even leave the old curbs along the road to save money. The costs are directed exclusively to the repair of the base of the street. And the sum of 300 million hryvnias is someone’s fantasy”, – explained to the TSN.ua website in Kyivavtodor.

No one will throw away the paving stones

Now all the old cobblestones are inspected by workers, and after cleaning and calibration, they are returned to the street paving. Only a single stone with obvious defects is missing.

“The main goal of the repair is to replace and strengthen the base of the street, on which the cobblestones lie. This is what the main funds are spent on. The workers are leveling the base of the street, where severe subsidence was detected. The area of ​​repair work is 10,000 square meters – from Khreshchatyk Street to Volodymyrska Street. Workers they work without days off in several shifts. More than 70 workers are involved in the site. We plan to finish the work by the end of summer, but we will try to do everything as soon as possible,” Kyivvtodor assures us.

New pedestrian crossing near Teatralna metro station

As part of the works, 7 pedestrian crossings will be installed on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, they will be laid out with red and white cobblestones of the FEM type (shaped paving element).

On ordinary cobblestones, paint does not hold very well, but on FEM it will last for years. By the way, most crossings in Kyiv are paved with FEM, because cars drive on them. Paving does not need to be painted for several years, spending money on paint.

“A new pedestrian crossing will appear on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street. It is already being created near the “Teatralna” metro station. It will be a duplicate crossing over the underpass, on which pedestrians will be able to conveniently cross the road in the area of ​​Yevhena Chikalenko Street (former name – Pushkinska). Also the pedestrian crossing will be near Tereshchenkivska Street. There is a step down, according to the new regulations, so that it is convenient for people in wheelchairs and parents with baby carriages. It is also planned to move the traffic light and traffic light near Tereshchenkivska Street a little to provide a convenient step down,” the utility corporation adds .

What is known about the cobblestones on Khmelnytskyi Street

The municipal corporation “Kyivavtodor” assured us that the cobblestones on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street are not as historic as they say.

“The cobblestones on Khmelnytskyi Street were laid in 1892. It appeared there together with the tram, which began to transport passengers that year. However, in 1934, the tram was removed, and the cobblestones remained. After the Second World War, this cobblestone was no longer in the best condition , because the center of Kyiv suffered from fires and bombings. Therefore, in the 50s of the last century, the old tsarist cobblestones were replaced with Soviet cobblestones. By 1957, all the cobblestones were replaced,” – we were told in the “Kyivavtodor” CC.

They add that in recent years, four streets in Kyiv with cobblestones have been renovated:

• Volodymyrsky Uzviz
• Podilsk lift
• Hrushevsky Street
• Shovkovychna Street, where work is still ongoing.

We will remind you that in Kyiv, a unique mosaic was destroyed at the VDNG. It was located in the former fire safety pavilion on the street. Pozezhna Chastyna, 26.

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