Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the highest bridge in the world, officially opened operation in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou on Sunday morning, Xinhua reported.
After three years of construction, the colossal structure shortened the travel time through a deep canyon from two hours to just two minutes.
The rising 625 meters above the Beipan River in the mountainous Guizhou terrain is the bridge nearly nine times as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
In addition, the project with the main span of 1,420 meters was recognized by the Guizha provincial authorities as the world’s world’s longest steel lay in the mountain terrain.
“Earth’s crack”
This long -meter -long structure, which extends Huajiang Grand Canyon, dramatically called “The Earth’s Crack”, is the latest addition to the rapidly developing network of infrastructure in the world’s second largest economy.
The Beipan River also hosts the world’s highest bridge, located approximately 100 kilometers from the new Grand Canyon Huajiang structure. This previous record holder officially opened in 2016 boasted a vertical will with 565.4 meters from the deck to the surface of the river below.
“A new bridge that will significantly increase regional connectivity is a milestone that shows Chinese innovation,” said Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transport department, according to Xinhua report.
The bridge has achieved several technological breakthroughs in its design of wind resistance and the construction of a bridge with a high altitude and gained 21 legitimate patents. Several of its technological innovations were incorporated into the national standards of bridge construction, Zhang added.
Since the beginning of the construction of the bridge, the construction team has exceeded the huge challenges present by the Grand Canyon. The use of a set of new technologies, including satellite navigation, drones, intelligent monitoring systems and ultra -high fixed materials, have achieved millimeter accuracy at high heights and transformed the once -controlable barrier into a shipping corridor.
Over the years Guizhou, one of the least developed provinces in China, has built over 30,000 bridges in its mountainous terrain, including the three highest in the world. The province is home to almost half of the 100 highest bridges in the world.
Last month, Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge successfully passed a five -day load car test.
The load test is the last step before it is considered safe to welcome traffic.
Around 96 heavy trucks, each weighing around 35 tons, the structural integrity of the bridge was tested at the designated points.
(Tagstotranslate) Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge (T) Guizhou (T) Beipan River
