The Alarchin Bridge spans the Griboyedov Canal at the alignment of English Avenue and connects Kolomna and Pokrovsky Islands in the Admiralteysky District of Saint Petersburg. It is a three-span metal structure on stone supports faced with granite. The span structure is riveted and continuous, consisting of seven main beams. The bridge is 29 meters long and 15.8 meters wide. The railings are forged metal, and the bridge surface is asphalt concrete.
The bridge has retained its name for 200 years. According to the well-known historian of Petersburg, Petrov, the origin of the name Alarchin Bridge is linked to the mispronunciation of the surname of the shipwright Aladchanin, whose house was located near the bridge.
Since 1761, there was a wooden bridge here, which was rebuilt between 1783 and 1785 following the design of the Pikalov Bridge. The author of the project is unknown. It was a three-span bridge with a wooden span structure on stone supports faced with granite, with a central lifting span. The width of the bridge was 10.2 meters.
In 1776, the bridge was renamed Alarchin, and in 1783–1785, a new crossing was built here according to a standard project of that time: a wooden three-span bridge 10.2 meters wide with a lifting draw span, on rubble stone supports faced with granite. Four granite obelisks with lanterns were installed on the intermediate supports, and the railings were made of metal rods with a simple design.
In 1906-1907, the bridge was reconstructed according to the project of engineers Bers, Pshenitsky, and architect Zazersky. The wooden span structure was replaced with a riveted metal continuous structure consisting of seven main beams. The bridge has remained in this form to the present day.
The bridge was widened by extending the sidewalks on cantilevers. The granite obelisks with lanterns were moved from the intermediate supports to the abutments. As a result, the length of the bridge increased to 26.5 meters, and the width to 15.8 meters.
The original design of the bridge’s lattice was also changed. A new forged metal lattice was installed on the crossing. The bridge surface remained wooden for a long time but was later replaced with asphalt concrete.
In 1953, the torcheres with lanterns on the bridge were restored according to the project of the famous Leningrad architect Alexander Lukich Rotach, and in 1969, the gilding on the tops of the granite obelisks was recreated.
In 1995, Washington-type lanterns were restored on the bridge, and in 1996, the granite drainage gutter was restored.
On December 31, 1834, near the Alarchin Bridge, the Imperial Nikolaevskaya Children's Hospital was opened, which is now Infectious Hospital No. 18 named after N.F. Filatov.
