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By Mail Foreign Service
Bouncing: The surface of the bridge can be seen snaking up and down during high winds at VolgogradRussian drivers are being left feeling more than a little wobbly after crossing a brand new bridge in Volgograd.
Alarming footage of the quivering 4.5 mile bridge has spread like wildfire on the internet, prompting President Dmitry Medvedev to demand a probe into what went wrong with the design of the project.
Reports say it bounces by more than three feet during strong winds, with a deafening screech accompanying the movement.
One driver, who drove over the new bridge last week, said: 'I was driving to my country house when my car started bouncing like a ball.
'I thought there was something wrong with my suspension.'
Andrey Bystrov, who also crossed the bridge in his car, said: 'My first feeling was that my wheels were going in different directions.
'I started thinking, maybe something had happened with my suspension.
'Then I looked ahead to the coming vehicles and they were all swinging up and down.'
A blogger added: 'Maybe we used the same architect as that wobbling Millennium Bridge in London.'
The bridge, spanning the giant Volga River, cost £275million and was opened by deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov - a close aide to premier Vladimir Putin - eight months ago.
It has been closed since last week for safety reasons and while checks are carried out.
Alarming: The road surface moved more than a metre as the whole of the bridge wobbles
Safety concerns: The 4.5 mile bridge over the River Volga in Russia cost £275million took 13 years to buildSo far, experts blame the wrong kind of wind for the extreme turbulence suffered by drivers on the bridge - built by Moscow company Giprotransmost.
The pictures are from gale force winds last Thursday where wind speeds reached up to 18 metres per second.
Deputy Transportation Minister Oleg Belozyorov blamed the strength of the winds and dismissed a theory that an earthquake caused the bridge to wobble.
He said: 'Experts agree that it is the dynamics of the air.
'When winds gusts hit a certain resonance zone, they cause these kinds of consequences.'
Vladimir Parshin, an independent expert, said wind was the most likely cause despite this type of beam bridge - which took 13 years to build - being more stable than suspension bridges.
'The spans in the Volgograd bridge are rather long, so theoretically it could be less wind-resistant than other similar structures,' he told the Moscow Times.
Volgograd is one of the cities at the centre of Russia's bid for the 2018 World Cup, for which it is competing against England.
Resonance: Officials closed the bridge last week over safety concerns[endtext]
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