Over the larger arras of the river, the communication by means of bridges is in a most unsatisfactory condition. The two most important portions of the city, for instance, the Yassili Ostrof and the Great Side, are connected only by one bridge, the Isaac's Bridge ; the Trotzkoi Most is the only bridge between the Great Side and the St. Petersburg Side ; the Vassili Ostrof again has one bridge to the St. Petersburg Side ; and the Vilborg Side is connected by one bridge with the St. Petersburg Side, and by another with the Great Side. These five bridges, with four smaller ones that serve to connect the Apothecary Island, the Stone Island, Yelagin Island, and Krestofski Island, consist merely of boarded carriageways resting on pontoons. The masses of ice that come down in spring from the Ladoga Lake have hitherto deterred the government from incurring the expense of building permanent bridges of stone, though scarcely a year elapses in which some plan for the construction of better bridges is not proposed, discussed, forgotten, and renewed.
It sometimes happens that the ice in the gulf of Cronstadt is broken by stormy weather, while that in the Neva continues solid for some time afteiwards. The immense pressure that then ensues causes the whole mass of ice in the river to glide dowTiward in an unbroken body towards the gulf. This pressure is supposed to be so great that no bridge would be able to withstand it. Another difficulty is the marshy character of the tioil, in which it would not be easy, except at enormous cost, to obtain a foundation sufficiently strong to bear the buttresses of a bridge. These are serious difficulties, no doubt, but I am satisfied they will some day or other be overcome.
The nine pontoon bridges of St. Petersburg are so constructed that they may easily be taken to pieces, and quickly be put together again. During summer they remain undisturbed, each pontoon moored to its anchor, and fastened to huge piles ; but when the ice begins to come down the river in autumn, the bridges are taken asunder. Each bridge has its commandant with a hundred or two of workmen under his command. When the bridge has thus been removed, the intercourse between the different portions of the city can be carried on only by means of boats. As soon as the ice stands the bridges are reconstructed, for the ice on the Neva always forms a very rough surface, for which reason most people prefer using the bridges when they wish to cross the river. Not but a number of paths, crossing each other in all directions, are soon formed in the vast snoAvy desert.
In spring, the bridges continue to be used till the artillery of the fortress announces the breaking up of the ice, when they rapidly disappear under the dexterous management of the commandants and their experienced assistants. Preparations have usually been made some days before, by clearing a space in the river, to allow the pontoons to glide safely down into their several havens of refuge. As soon as the ice has passed, the bridges are restored, but every succeeding arrival of ice makes another demolition necessary. Such is the eagerness of the inhabitants of the different quarters to be able to avail themselves of the accommodation of their bridges, that they take advantage even of the shortest interval of open water. Each time that the Isaac's bridge is put together, an expense of several hundred rubles is incurred ; nevertheless, I have seen it taken to pieces and put together again two or three times on one day, and in the course of one spring it is said to have been broken up and reconstructed no less than twenty -three times.
On these occasions, the boldness and dexterity of the workmen, the activity of the commandant, the formidable masses of ice, the bridges themselves floating down the stream, and a multitude of little occurrences that take place, combine to form an interesting and animated spectacle. Sometimes, of course, accidents happen. Thus in the spring of 1836, the Isaac's Bridge, the most important of all, got aground and could not be brought afloat again. A violent gale from the east, it was said, had blown so much of the water out into the gulf, that the river had lost its requisite depth. Others were charitable enough to say that the commandant had accepted a bribe from the contractors who farm the boats on the river. Be this as it may, the bridge continued aground for eight days, the boats made a splendid harvest, and the commandant was threatened with arrest and a court of inquiry. At last the master of poHce interfered. Three hundred men were sent up to their necks into the water, to pull away at the pontoons, while others worked away behind with levers and iron bars. Screaming, creaking, bending, and breaking, the bridge was at last lifted by main force, as it were, out of the marsh, and floated majestically back to its accustomed station.