en.Wedoany.com Reported - The overall construction progress of China's Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge has exceeded 50%. As of July 9, the bridge has completed a cumulative investment of 17.3 billion yuan, accounting for 55.6% of the approved budget estimate of 31.1 billion yuan.
This key national river-crossing project under China's 14th Five-Year Plan connects the G40 Shanghai-Xi'an and G4221 Shanghai-Wuhan expressways, linking Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, Jingjiang in Taizhou, and Rugao in Nantong, with a total length of approximately 29.8 kilometers. The main navigation channel bridge adopts a steel box girder suspension bridge structure with a main span of 2,300 meters, making it the world's largest-span bridge under construction. It achieves a breakthrough in China's bridge span exceeding 2,000 meters for the first time. According to Ruan Jing, Chief Engineer of the Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge Construction Headquarters, upon completion, the bridge will simultaneously claim six "world records" and six "world firsts."
The bridge construction headquarters, in collaboration with teams from Tsinghua University, Southeast University, and other institutions, has conducted dozens of research projects, successfully breaking through the key technical bottlenecks in constructing 2,000-meter-class suspension bridges. The project currently undertakes two national key research and development projects, has won six provincial and ministerial science and technology awards, revised two industry standards, and compiled four group standards, filling the gap in China's design and construction specifications for 2,000-meter-class suspension bridges.
In terms of key materials, the bridge construction headquarters, together with relevant entities, has developed 2,200 MPa-class world's highest-strength main cable steel wires, the world's largest expansion adaptive expansion device, self-compacting non-shrinkage high-strength and tough concrete, and overcome the manufacturing technology for new L-rib steel box girders.
Intelligent construction runs through the entire bridge construction process. The project has established a full life-cycle intelligent management and control system, scaled up the implementation of automated welding technology, achieving a comprehensive automated welding rate of 94%. The trenching accuracy for diaphragm walls reaches over 1/1000, the final settlement deviation of the caisson is only 15.8 mm, and the verticality of the steel tower reaches 1/36000. The pioneering integrated intelligent anti-corrosion system and intelligent sensing replaceable main cable anchorage system provide technical solutions for the intelligent construction and maintenance of extra-large-span bridges.
Zhangjiagang Maritime Safety Administration and Rugao Maritime Office, considering the complex navigational environment of the construction waters, have scientifically deployed emergency forces, implemented a "one-ship, one-policy" management mechanism, and promoted staggered construction and time-phased navigation to ensure the smooth transportation of engineering materials. Meanwhile, as the Zhangjiagang waterfront terminals serve as a core hub for heavy equipment export along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Feng Long, Deputy Captain of the Bonded Area Maritime Patrol Enforcement Brigade of Zhangjiagang Maritime Safety Administration, told reporters that the maritime authorities have opened a "green channel" for key project exports, implementing "centralized processing and parallel approval" to achieve "loading and immediate departure, zero delay in sea dispatch."
Currently, the main construction of all four main towers has been completed. Ruan Jing stated that the construction focus is shifting to the bridge's superstructure, with catwalk construction expected to start in September this year. The bridge is planned to be completed by 2028, at which point the crossing time between the three cities will be reduced from a 40-minute ferry ride to a 10-minute drive.
