Drago rosso, Highway bridge in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
The Red Dragon Bridge carries the Khanty-Mansiysk–Nyagan road over the Irtysh River. Including its approach ramps it is 1,316 m long and has 14 spans; the three central ones, measuring 94.5, 136.5, 231, 136.5 and 94.5 m over the water, rest on a red steel lattice combining arch, truss and beam. The deck sits more than 15 m above the water and the arch rises 42.7 m above it.
The bridge was completed in 2004 as a key connection point for the northern highway route linking Siberian cities from Perm to Tomsk. Its construction was crucial for improving transportation links between the region and larger urban centers.
The nickname "Red Dragon" comes from the bright red paint and the shape of the steel arch-truss over the three central spans, not from any myth. In 2009 the Russian post office issued a commemorative stamp showing the bridge, and in a 2013 online poll by the Federal Road Agency it placed second among Russia's most beautiful bridges, behind the Murom bridge over the Oka.
The bridge features two traffic lanes plus emergency lanes in each direction and handles thousands of vehicles daily. Visitors can experience it both from a car and from nearby viewpoints where the red steel structure is particularly visible.
In 2013 an online poll run by the Federal Road Agency placed the bridge second among Russia's most beautiful bridges, behind the Muromsky bridge over the Oka at Murom and ahead of the Yugorsky bridge over the Ob at Surgut. The steel arches rise 42.7 metres above the main span's deck.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,186 contributors worldwide.