en.Wedoany.com Reported - The main arch of the Xiaocao Canal Arch Bridge in Shaoxing, constructed with participation from China Railway Group Limited (CREC) industry, was recently closed, marking the successful completion of the core construction phase for the bridge's main structure.
Spanning the World Heritage-listed Grand Canal and the ancient towpath, the Xiaocao Canal Arch Bridge is a key control project of the 104 National Highway reconstruction project from Donghu to Haoba in Shaoxing. This project integrates multiple functions including traffic passage, heritage protection, and cultural tourism empowerment. During construction, it faced dual constraints from navigation channel requirements and cultural relic protection, compounded by limitations of high-altitude hoisting operations, resulting in high overall management difficulty and stringent technical standards.
With a main span of 258 meters and a total deck width of 54.09 meters, the bridge is the steel box basket-handle tied-arch bridge with the largest span among similar bridge types in Zhejiang Province. The total weight of the bridge's steel structure is approximately 14,000 tons, manufactured by China Railway Baoji Bridge Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CREC Industry.
The project innovatively adopted a domestically pioneered self-balancing cable-stayed suspension system without backstays, abandoning traditional ground-supported scaffolding construction methods. This enabled a "arch-first, girder-later" construction approach without temporary supports, well adapting to the constrained construction environment along the canal while balancing construction efficiency and cultural relic protection requirements.
During construction, the project team established a linkage assessment mechanism for lifting loads and tower displacement, conducting 72-hour continuous round-the-clock monitoring to capture subtle deformation data during the closure gap. Leveraging 3D digital simulation technology, the team simulated the entire process of component lifting, alignment, and closure, precisely calculating three core parameters: structural offset correction, weld construction allowance, and diurnal temperature deformation. The scientific determination of the closure segment's cutting dimensions, empowered by digital means, ultimately achieved high-precision closure operations.
Upon completion, the Xiaocao Canal Arch Bridge will break the traffic bottleneck in eastern Shaoxing, establish a regional interconnected transportation network, further optimize the city's expressway layout, accelerate the integrated development of Yuecheng, Keqiao, and Shangyu districts, and stimulate industrial and cultural tourism development along the route. This new canal bridge, blending ancient charm with modern infrastructure technology, will connect the historical and contemporary cultural veins of the canal, empowering Shaoxing's high-quality urban development.
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