Giant beam moves into place on bridge in Shanxi

A giant cantilevered beam measuring 163 meters long and weighing 14,456 metric tons was rotated to its targeted position on a highway bridge on Wednesday in Jinzhong, Shanxi province.

The cantilever, which swiveled around an angle of 49 degrees, is the first and largest rotated cantilever on both a national highway and a railway line in the province.

"The difficulty of construction lies in the short operation window and the length of the span," Qin Chaofeng, chief engineer of the project, told local media.

"The shortest distance between the pier column and the railway is only 10.3 meters and the construction site is very narrow, factors that impose high requirement on alignment control and technical precision."

As one of the key projects in the city, the bridge will promote the development of the economy and tourism resources.