A bridge linking mainland Russia with the Crimean Peninsula will be built by Arkady Rotenberg, a Russian construction tycoon and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a January 14 report in Vedomosti.

Russia has sought to build a bridge to Crimea since the end of World War ii, but the project always stalled out due to high costs and political controversy. Since Russia officially annexed Crimea last spring, the controversy within Russia has diminished, bringing a renewed impetus for a connection.

The plans for the bridge have not been made public, but sources inside Russia’s Finance Ministry told Vedomosti, on the condition of anonymity, that the design is for a 12-mile bridge spanning the Kerch Strait through the Tuzla spit, which divides Russia’s Krasnodar region from the Crimean Peninsula. The bridge will accommodate a railway and four lanes of automobile traffic. At an estimated cost of $3.5 billion, the bridge to Crimea will be the most expensive bridge Russia has ever built.

Three firms were considered for the contract, but the Stroygazmontazh Corporation, 51 percent of which Rotenberg owns, won the bid. Rotenberg is one of Russia’s most influential businessmen, as well as one of Putin’s strongest supporters. His personal relationship with Putin includes regular sessions of judo training and sparring.

Here are the two men together at a judo event:

https://twitter.com/JBusinessNews/status/514689310168059904

The bridge project could allay concerns among some Westerners who speculate that Russia wants to annex regions of eastern Ukraine in order to connect Crimea to mainland Russia. With such a bridge, Russia would have this connection without needing to pry away other territories from Ukraine.