Wedoany.com Report on Feb 3rd, Recently, the first pile foundation for the south main tower of the Three Gorges Bridge (originally named the Nanjinguan Yangtze River Bridge), a key control node of the Yichang West City Expressway, completed concrete casting, marking a substantial advancement in the main construction of this bridge project.
The Yichang West City Expressway route spans approximately 47 kilometers, with a main line designed for a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. As the controlling bridge project along the entire route, the Three Gorges Bridge is located in the Nanjinguan section between the Three Gorges Dam and the Gezhouba Dam, spanning the Xiling Gorge and connecting the Dianjun District and Yiling District of Yichang City. The bridge has a total length of 1,855 meters, with a main span reaching 1,200 meters, employing a single-span river-crossing design. The bridge deck is 45.6 meters wide, featuring a two-way eight-lane expressway on the upper level and a slow-moving sightseeing system on the lower level. This bridge project integrates transportation and tourism functions in its design, aiming to create the first "bridge-tourism integration" demonstration project in Hubei Province.
This large-span suspension bridge project exhibits several technical characteristics in its structure. Its main span length ranks among the top in China for similar double-deck steel truss-UHPC composite girder suspension bridges. The main bridge structure adopts ultra-high-performance concrete bridge decks combined with a steel truss system. The main towers are designed with a streamlined shape, and the main cables utilize 2100MPa high-strength steel wires. The slow-moving system planned for the lower level is intended to provide scenic passageways for pedestrians and tourists.
During the construction process, the construction team faced challenges such as complex mountainous terrain, high environmental protection requirements, and variable climatic conditions. By optimizing resource allocation and construction organization, they completed the casting of the test pile for the south main tower by the end of November 2025 and passed quality inspection in December of the same year, laying the foundation for subsequent pile foundation construction for the bridge project.
Upon completion, this bridge project will connect with multiple roads including the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, Ya-Xiao Expressway, Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway, and the Jiangnan Ship Lift Expressway, forming a regional loop expressway network. This will help improve the efficiency of urban vehicle access to the expressway system and promote the optimization of the regional road network structure. This bridge project plays a positive role in improving the comprehensive transportation system in the Three Gorges area, serving the national infrastructure layout, and promoting Yichang's development as a national comprehensive transportation hub.
