The city decided to build a permanent bridge on this site in 1865, authorizing 300,000 rouble total expenditure. The first bidding contest brought no winner, the job was later awarded to Amand Struwe. His draft was approved by Alexander II, who christened the bridge "Borodinsky" to commemorate the Battle of Borodino. Construction started May 2, 1867 and commissioned March 15, 1868. Typical for Struwe, it was a steel truss box, with three 43 meter long spans. Trusses were built by Kolomna Works (owned by Struwe family) and ferried by river.