Chinese Mega Bridge with two artificial islands and the largest underwater tunnel
In China's Guangdong Province in the south of the country began construction of a 17-kilometer bridge between the cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan. The road bridge, thrown over the Gulf of South China Sea, should be completed by 2024.
The project will consist of the world's widest underwater tunnel with two suspension bridges and two artificial islands.
With a length of 6.8 kilometers and a width of 46 meters, the two-way eight-lane tunnel will be the largest and widest in the world after completion. Its construction will require more than 320,000 metric tons of steel. Song Shen, chief engineer of Shenzhen Zhongshan Bridge, said the construction of the structure is a very complicated procedure. In some aspects, it is even larger than the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge (which is the longest bridge in the world), as there are a number of factors to consider, such as height restrictions, flood control and environmental protection measures.
Three hours of work to lift and place a huge steel cylinder weighing 637.43 tons, the equivalent of 20 Boeing 737 aircraft, in the Lindin sea area at the mouth of the Pearl River on Monday marked the beginning of construction of the western artificial island of the Chinese corridor.
A 38.5-meter high cylinder in a 13-story building will be installed along with another 56 cylinders of similar size to form the base and frame of the island, an important project in the center of Pearl River to connect the tunnel section and bridge section.
The artificial island is similar to a diamond-shaped kite, only flanking not in the air but in the water. Its area above sea level will be 137,000 square meters, which is equivalent to 19 standard soccer fields, 456 meters wide and 625 meters at the farthest points.
According to Mr. Fan, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Zhongshan Corridor Management Center, the artificial island technology based on cyclic impact has minimal environmental impact and saves time. It was first used in the construction of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge.
Zhou Haitao, former chief engineer of the Ministry of Transport, believes the hydrological condition of the corridor is much more difficult than that of the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Contractors will face problems with sludge cleaning and sand filling.
The 24-kilometer corridor, a key project for Guangdong Province, includes two artificial islands, two suspension bridges and the world's widest tunnel with eight lanes in two directions and a capacity of up to 90,000 vehicles per day.
The corridor is worth 6.7 billion dollars. The $6.7 billion corridor, approximately 40 kilometers north of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, will connect Shenzhen with the cities of Zhongshan and Jiangmen and shorten the road from Shenzhen to the western end of the Pearl River Delta by more than 100 kilometers. After completing the corridor in 2024, a trip from Shenzhen to Zhongshan will take you only 30 minutes.
Nowadays, the road across the often congested Humen Bridge takes two to three hours.
Shenzhen Zhongshan Bridge connects eastern and western cities in the Pearl River Delta. In recent decades, these two areas have demonstrated unbalanced development as a result of poor transport networks, with the western region lagging behind in terms of economic growth. The bridge is expected to improve the situation. Experts say it will become an important channel connecting the east and west of the region and will facilitate integration of cities in the Greater Bay Area. In particular, cross-border cooperation between the mainland and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau will be strengthened.
To date, China holds the leadership in the construction of the world's longest bridge structures. Thus, the longest is considered to be Danyang Kunshan viaduct in China - 165 km, the second place - Tianjin viaduct - 113 km. Until the commissioning of the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, the longest operating sea bridge is the Qingdao Bridge over the Gulf - 42.5 km.
These deserve respect to make such a big and amazing bridge.