Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony opening the Crimean Bridge and meets with the builders before crossing the bridge in Crimea, Russia on May 15, 2018. (KREMLIN PHOTO)

MOSCOW, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin officially opened the Crimean Bridge that links southern Russia and Crimea on Tuesday.

The construction of the bridge over the Kerch Strait between the Black and Azov seas started in 2015 following the incorporation of the former Ukrainian republic in 2014 and consequent deterioration of relations between Moscow and Kiev.

The cost of the project is estimated at around 228 billion rubles (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to the project's website.

The 19-km bridge is the largest in Russia built so far. It consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains.

The automobile track consists of four lanes. Up to 40,000 cars a day may cross the bridge travelling at a speed of up to 120 km per hour.