The Closure Of The Main Beam Of The World's Largest Span Feiyan Style Steel Tube Concrete Tied Arch Bridge

The picture shows the Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge in the dawn. Photo by Liu Zhongjun

At around 11:00 on the 18th, as the last bridge deck beam was lifted and installed from the surface of the Yangtze River, it marked the official closure of the main beam of the world's largest span Feiyan style steel tube concrete tied arch bridge - Sichuan Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge (also known as Hejiang Yangtze River Three Bridges).

Sichuan has numerous rivers, and for a long time, some impoverished areas have mainly relied on ferry transportation, resulting in many inconveniences in production and life. Therefore, in recent years, the province has promoted the construction of ferry bridges to eliminate vehicle crossings and pedestrian crossings with an annual transportation volume of over 50000 people throughout the province.

Local people are full of expectations for the bridge and have come to watch. Photo by Liu Zhongjun

The Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge, which was completed on the same day, is located in the main urban area of Hejiang County, Luzhou City. It spans the north and south banks of the Yangtze River and is a key project in Sichuan's bridge renovation. The total budget investment of this project is 510 million yuan. The main span of the bridge is 507 meters, making it the world's largest span Feiyan style steel tube concrete tied arch bridge. The main bridge is 668 meters long, with a total length of 1420 meters and a designed speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

At the Zaolin Bridge Ferry not far downstream of the bridge, several ferries are crossing the river. Shi Yang, a staff member of the Hejiang County Transportation Bureau, said that the ferry has a history of over a hundred years, and during major festivals such as the Spring Festival, more than 10000 people cross the river on a daily basis. "But there are many restrictions on crossing the river by ferry, and it is not allowed to sail in heavy fog and strong winds, which poses safety risks and brings a lot of inconvenience to the people on both sides of the river."

The picture shows the lifting site of the bridge. Photo by Liu Zhongjun

Zeng Xingyu, Deputy Director of Luzhou Transportation Bureau, stated that the Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge is the first local highway bridge in Hejiang County. After the completion of the project, it will become an important channel connecting the south bank of the old urban area of Hejiang and the north bank of the new urban area, completely ending the history of people crossing the river on both sides of the river, and providing a convenient channel for close communication between the five townships in the Jiangbei area of Hejiang County and more than 400000 people in Hejiang County.

Wang Yang, the design director of the Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge, introduced that the structural system, structural details, and construction plan achievements of the bridge are another breakthrough in the technology of steel tube concrete arch bridges, providing technical support for the wider promotion and application of steel tube concrete arch bridges.

The picture shows the lifting site of the bridge. Photo by Liu Zhongjun

"The bridge adopts a steel-concrete arch bridge, which achieves a combination of structural safety, cost reduction, and aesthetics." Wang Yang said that the bridge has set a new record in bridge structure technology, becoming the world's largest span Feiyan style steel-concrete tied arch bridge. Compared with other bridge types, it reduces construction and installation costs by about 90 million yuan.

"Today, the last bridge deck beam of the main span of the bridge is being lifted." said Xiao Kaijun, project manager of the Hejiang Yangtze River Highway Bridge and deputy chief engineer of the Second Company of CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co., Ltd. The bridge deck beam of the bridge consists of 51 sections, consisting of 31 main span deck beams and 20 side span deck beams. The main span deck beam is closed from both ends to the middle and installed by lifting. The bridge deck beam must be transported by ship to the installation position under the bridge, so construction must be completed before the flood season approaches.