Longest cable-stayed bridge-the Sutong Bridge sets
world record
NANJING,
China-- The
Sutong Bridge, a cable stayed bridge that spans the
Yangtze River, between Nantong and Changshu, has a span of
1,088 metres (3,570 ft) and sets a world record for the longest
span cable-stayed bridge. Photo:
The Sutong Bridge lies between Nantong City and Changshu in
the east of Jiangsu province and will become part of the national
key trunk route./
photo:XINHUA
(enlarge photo)
"The main navigational opening is 62 meters
in height and 891 meters wide, which allows the passage of
huge vessels with a cargo capacity up to 50,000 tonnes," said
Wu Shouchang, chief engineer of the construction headquarters.
The all-China project is a six-lane expressway
designed for maximum speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. The
Sutong Bridge will cut travel times from Shanghai
to Nantong from four hours to one hour.
Photo: The bridge also has world's highest
bridge tower / XINHUA (enlarge
photo)
Construction began in June 2003 and bridge was
linked up in June 2007. The bridge was opened to traffic on
May 25, 2008[2] and was officially opened on the 30th June,
2008.
The
Sutong Bridge runs 32.4 kilometers, with a total investment
of around 8.5 billion yuan (about $1.7 billion). "The bridge is a good demonstration of China's
scientific achievements in bridge construction over the past
years," said Wu.
Up to 30,000 vehicles a day crossed
the bridge during the trial, the Xinhua news agency reported.
You
Qingzhong, provincial director of transportation, said The
Sutong Bridge was expected to ease navigation problems
caused by ferries in the Yangtze estuary and promote economic
growth in the Yangtze River Delta.
The project's chief engineer Wu Shouchang said
the 1.15-billion-dollar bridge, which overtakes Japan's 890-meter
(2,900-foot) Tatara Bridge as the longest of its kind, is
a feat of modern Chinese engineering.
The
Sutong Bridge, 108 km (67 miles) upstream from the
mouth of the Yangtze River, joins the national highway network
on both banks, Xinhua said.
The bridge is supported by soaring steel and concrete
towers that stand 300 meters tall.
The previous record holder, the Tatara Bridge
in Japan, has a main span of 890 meters.
... Around 150,000 bridges had been built
in China over the past 15 years, an average of 10,000 a year,
said Xu Kuangdi, president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The bridges, with a total distance of more than
8,300 kilometers, include road and railway bridges, cloverleaf
intersections in big cities, and 156.7 kilometers of bridges
built on frozen ground for the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
The
Sutong Bridge claims four world records: largest main
span, the deepest foundation, the highest pylon and the longest
stayed cable. The largest main span: 1088m; The
Sutong Bridge is 200m longer than that of Tatara Bridge
in Japan. The deepest foundation: Steel casing
depth: 120m The highest pylon: The pylon is over
300m; North and south pylon are the essence of Sutong Bridge,
as all load needs to be first transferred to pylon leg, then
to the foundation. This means high accuracy of pylon construction. The longest stayed cable: 577m.
The stay has a dead weight of 59 tons and service life of
50 years. It is superior to similar products from abroad from
quality and service life point of view.
