Even before the Saint Petersburg was founded, there were settlements in the Okhta region, and with the growth of the city, it quickly grew to become big industrial center.

Next time the possibility of building a bridge was raised in 1860-th, when the Emperor approved the decision to join the Okhta district to Saint Petersburg.

But even after selecting the winning project, the work didn't start for a long time.

This tragic event set things in motion, and on September 24, 1907 the contract for building the bridge was signed.

The ceremony of bridge founding took place on June 26, 1909, exactly two hundred years from the Battle of Poltava.