Saturday, May 03, 2008
China First World's Longest Trans-sea Bridge Opens up In China
Hangzhou Bay Trans-sea Bridge was opened to traffics on a trial basis on May 1. China inaugurated the longest's bridge in the country as part of its effort to boost economic integration and development in the Yangtze River Delta.
Presented as the "world's longest sea bridge", the 36-kilometre (22-mile) structure connects Jiaxing city near Shanghai to the port city of Ningbo in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
The 11.8 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) bridge cuts the length of the road trip from Shanghai to Ningbo by 120 kilometres. Link
HANGZHOU, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- China started Sunday the construction of its first sea-crossing bridge, also said to be the longest in the world, at the Hangzhou Bay in east China.
With an estimated investment of 11.8 billion yuan (1.42 billionUS dollars), the 36-km-long Ningbo Hangzhou Bay Sea-crossing Bridge is much longer than the 25.23-km-long Chesapeke-Bay Bridge Tunnel in the United States and the 25-km-long Saudi Arabia Baharian Cause Way.
With a designed life span of 100 years, the bridge will have six lanes in two directions which allow for a driving speed of 100km per hour.
The Hangzhou Bay is a gulf in the East China Sea. Famous for the Qiantang River Tide, one of China's natural wonders, the bay is encircled by a group of economically booming cities including Shanghai, China's leading industrial and commercial hub, and Ningbo, one of China's leading port cities.
The Yangtze River delta, where the bay is located, accounts for two percent of China's total land space and 10 percent of its total population, but contributes to 22 percent of the national gross domestic product.
The S-shaped stayed-cable sea-crossing bridge, linking Cixi City on the southern bank of the bay and Jiaxing City on the northern bank, will be completed in 2008.
Upon completion, the bridge will shorten the distance between Shanghai and Ningbo by 120 km.
The bridge is a coastal routeway connecting the areas along theBohai Bay, the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas. It is also the largest project of the planned 5,200-km-long national highway that runs through China from Tongjiang of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province to Sanya of south China's Hainan Province.
China's first self-designed and self-built bridge, the Qiantang River Bridge, about 200 km away from the new sea-crossing bridge, was completed in 1937. Up to now, China has constructed thousands of bridges on its rivers.
Construction of the new sea-crossing bridge is an indication of China's increasing economic power, and it is expected to boost economic development in the Yangtze River delta, said Jin Jianming,an official in charge of the bridge construction.
It shows that China now is capable of building world-class bridges, he noted.
Following the Hangzhou Bay bridge, a number of sea-crossing bridges at the Bohai Bay, Huangdao in Shandong Province and East China Sea will be constructed involving more than 100 billion yuan(12.09 billion US dollars), authoritative sources have disclosed.
In the early 20th century, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of the democratic revolution of China, had initiated the construction of a Hangzhou Bay trans-sea bridge.
Preparations for constructing the bridge started 10 years ago, and more than 500 experts had spent eight years on designing the Hangzhou Bay bridge, which sets many records in China's history ofbridge construction.
Costing the biggest investment in building a single bridge in China, the bridge is the first State Council-approved large infrastructure project on China's mainland that invites private investment.
Seventeen private enterprises will invest 50.25 percent of the total funds needed to build the bridge. The remaining part of the investment will come from some state-owned enterprises.
Upon completion, daily traffic volume on the bridge is estimated to reach 45,000 vehicles during its first year of operation. The bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in 2009. source
Labels: amazing, Design, Technology, World Business
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