The Amur Railway is known for its unique man-made structures, such as the Khabarovsk Bridge over the Amur River (considered the longest in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union, and Eurasia for decades; designed by Lavr Proskuryakov) and the first permafrost tunnel in the world with the use of insulation between its outer surface and the rock. At the suggestion of Alexander Liverovsky, the engineers devised a method of building piers with the use of heated concrete in below-zero weather conditions. They also built railway stations, railroad workshops, elementary schools and hospitals along the Amur Railway. Before the bridge was operational, they had arranged a train ferry in summertime and horse-drawn train platforms to cross the icebound Amur River in wintertime. In 1912, the government began issuing up to 400 rubles in allowances and necessary household articles to those workers who had decided to settle in this region.