On Wednesday, March 19, Russian government started preparations for the construction of a bridge which is expected to link the southern Russian Krasnodar Territory directly with Crimea.

      The bridge which is to be built over the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, should be suitable for both road and rail traffic. Currently the only way from Russia to Crimea runs through the Ukrainian territory mainly, which can cause problems due to the recent tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

      Transport minister Maxim Sokolov said several projects of the bridge to the Black Sea peninsula that would bypass mainland Ukraine will be ready by the end of this year. He added that there is a project of laying a tunnel under the Kerch Strait, which is also considered as a possible option.

      The previously estimated budger of the construction is 3 billion of rubles ($83 million). The whole process may take up to 4 years.

      The idea to build a bridge that would span the 4.5-kilometer strait has been under discussion for a decade. Moscow and Kiev eventually came to an agreement last December.

      Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine with a Russian ethnic majority, signed a reunification treaty with Moscow on Tuesday following a referendum on Sunday in which some 96.7 percent of voters backed joining Russia after 60 years as part of Ukraine.