Hangzhou Bay Bridge,China,Wolrld’s second largest bridge.
Hangzhou Bay Bridge is a bridge with cable-stayed bridge portion across Hangzhou Bay off the eastern coast of China. It was linked up on June 14, 2007, and connects the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. The bridge is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, although it does not have the longest cable-stayed main span. The opening ceremony was held on June 26, 2007 with great domestic media publicity, though after the opening ceremony, the bridge would only be used for test and evaluation purposes. It was opened to the public on 1 May 2008.
Construction of this bridge started on June 8, 2003. The bridge itself is 36 km long with six expressway lanes in two directions, making it the second-longest bridge in the world after the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, USA. The bridge has two main spans, with a 448 meters (1,470 ft) northern span, and a 318 meters (1,043 ft) southern span. The designated speed is 100 kilometers per hour, and the designed longevity is more than 100 years. The total investment on the bridge is RMB 11.8 billion (US$ 1.4 billion as of December 2004). 35% of this amount was raised from private companies in Ningbo, 59% was provided as loans from China’s central and regional banks. Orthotropic steel deck is used on its main spans and five ramp bridges, and is to be paved with 50 mm epoxy asphalt concrete.
History
The original plan was for the northern end of the bridge to start at Jinshan, a suburb of Shanghai. The bridge underwent different feasibility studies for a decade before it was finally approved in 2003. After opposition was raised by the Shanghai Municipal Government, however, it was shifted south to the territory of Zhejiang province. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge connects Cixi City, west of Ningbo, to Jiaxing. It cuts the distance from Shanghai to Ningbo by more than 320 km. Whereas previously the trip from Ningbo to Shanghai and southern Jiangsu involved a detour of around 400 km, the bridge reduces that distance to 80 km. The result is that Ningbo, with its port at Beilun, will be able to compete with Shanghai’s port Pudong for international sea freight.
Quotes
“The bridge has become well-known and is expected to attract visitors,” said an official. “We haven’t decided how long the trial operation period will last. That depends … on the bridge condition and we need time to improve management about its operation.”
Taking environmental protection into account, the top priority for us was to prevent the Hangzhou Bay water from being polluted,” Qiu Dongyao, Jiaxing Executive Vice-Mayor.
“There used to be a desolate beach near our village. Later, many factories were built there due to the bridge.” — Xinhua
