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Completed Tianxingzhou Bridge marks milestone
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-12 14:55

The Tianxingzhou Bridge is the latest bridge to be built on the Yangtze River, with the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, finished in 1957, as its predecessor. Built at a cost of 11 billion yuan ($1.61 billion), the 4,657-meter cable suspension bridge is the biggest combined highway and railway bridge in the world. As the sixth bridge and the second highway-railway bridge over the Yangtze River, the bridge sets four records with its 504-meter span, 30-meter width, load capacity of 20,000 tons and a permissible train speed of 250 kilometers per hour. Hu Hanzhou, commander of the Bridge Project, said the bridge represents the enhanced comprehensive industrial strength of China.

As the world's first bridge with four rail lines, the main span over water extends 504 meters, surpassing the Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, making a historical leap from a 300-meter level to a 500-meter level of the combined highway-railway bridge. Tianxingzhou Bridge has a designed load capacity of 20,000 tons, holding six times the weight of the Wuhan Second Yangtze River Bridge. It is the first bridge that can meet high speed railway operation standards, with the capacity for trains to pass over it at a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour. And with its combined four railroad tracks and six traffic lanes, the Tianxingzhou Bridge is the widest bridge in the world. “With all [these] achievements, we will strive for first place of the Reward of National Science and Technology Progress and Lu-Ban Prize,” said Hu.

Qin Shunquan, chief engineer of the bridge, described the significance of the bridge to China Daily. “First, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is 52 years old and cannot meet the high speed standard at present. The second reason, Wuhan is the only way for trains [to travel] from Shanghai to Chengdu; the bridge helps to ease the load burden [due to] its perfect bridge location.”

In early 1992, plans for the construction of the railway transport passage began, and in 1994, the vision for the Wuhan ring road was formulated. Tianxingzhou Yangtze River Bridge started construction on September 28, 2004. The bridge is witness to the work of Chinese bridge designers and builders and continuous progress is being made in design, materials and construction methods. For instance, the design of the rail lanes was initially set for two to three and then to the final four. All of the proposals received approval by the State Council.

With construction of the bridge completed, there will now be a 27 km-railway across densely populated areas of the city. Environmental protection plays a significant role in the project, with investment reaching 150 million yuan, most of which is enrolled in shock absorption, noise reduction, city greening and protection against electromagnetic radiation. Several technical difficulties emerged in the construction of the bridge, but most have been settled by a series of new facilities and techniques. During the decade to construct the bridge, experts at the China Zhongtie Major Bridge Engineering Group created six self-renovation techniques.

The bridge connects the Beijing-Guangzhou Passenger Line and the Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu Railway express passageway. For Wuhan, the natural obstacle that is the Yangtze River became accessible for various vehicles due to the completion of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in 1957, but the Tianxingzhou Bridge makes for less traffic jams and safer access. The new bridge will be a key part of China's major rail transport network, making Wuhan a leading railway transport hub following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.