The controversial Kerch Strait Bridge has been officially opened to road traffic. The 19 km bridge connects Crimea’s Kerch Peninsula and the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia.

The Kerch Strait Bridge project, which broke ground in 2016, is a major part of the Kremlin’s plan to integrate Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in March 2014, into the Russian Federation.  A rail link is scheduled to open in 2019.

Prior to the bridge opening, the Kerch Strait separated Crimea from Russia; the only routes to Crimea from mainland Russia were by airplane or ferry.

HLPFI reported on the construction of the bridge in the November/December 2017 edition, which you can see here.