en.Wedoany.com Reported - Baoding City in Hebei Province, China, has achieved an engineering feat: a 46,000-ton bridge was precisely rotated 52.4 degrees in 68 minutes, successfully spanning the operational Beijing-Guangzhou Railway below. This operation aimed to minimize disruption to the busy railway line and set a new world record.

The bridge, measuring 263.6 meters in length, is constructed from concrete and steel. The operation took place on July 30, 2019. Engineers employed the rotation construction method, building the main structure parallel to the railway before rotating it into its final position. The core reason for this approach was to avoid prolonged train suspensions that would result from direct construction above the active railway.

The key component of the entire project was a spherical hinge with a diameter of 6.5 meters, which served as the pivot for the bridge's rotation, enabling the massive weight to turn smoothly. The diameter of this spherical hinge also set a world record. According to CGTN and China Daily, the operation broke records in terms of the weight and span of the rotating structure.

The project was constructed by the Southern Branch of China Construction Communications Engineering Group Co., Ltd. The Beijing-Guangzhou Railway is one of China's busiest railway lines, carrying a large number of passenger and freight trains daily. Through the rotation construction method, the project solved the challenge of crossing the railway without interrupting its operations. This demonstrates China's proficient mastery of rotation construction technology in large-scale bridge building, which helps shorten construction periods and address complex environmental and traffic constraints.