Shen Weidong, a bridge constructor who will retire next year, has worked across rivers and seas for 41 years, participating in the construction of five national-level key bridges. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge is his final major project. In September 2018, during the sinking of the first steel casing for the west pier of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge amidst the vast sea, he raised his camera and captured this irreplaceable moment. Since then, he has taken tens of thousands of photos on the Lingdingyang estuary.
The soon-to-open Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge is undoubtedly the standout construction project of the summer of 2024.
Spanning 7 years, at what was originally an expanse of water, it has transformed into a majestic dragon winding and leaping: constructing a sky road over the sea, raising islands from the sea, and building underwater tunnels.
With each infrastructure marvel completed, people marvel at this tremendous change: a world-class landmark standing proudly in the Greater Bay Area. Starting from the Pearl River Estuary, a world-class cluster project of bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges is set to serve the Greater Bay Area. The crucial segment of a 100-kilometer "Golden Inlet" A-shaped transportation network around the Pearl River Estuary is about to take shape. A passage crucial to economic development and people's livelihoods is on the verge of opening.
The Lingdingyang area is a crucial shipping route at the Pearl River Estuary, also one of the busiest in the world, capable of accommodating vessels up to 300,000 tons in capacity.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, featuring the world's largest span of 1,666 meters for an offshore steel box girder suspension bridge, boasts main towers standing at 270 meters tall, equivalent to a 90-story building. With a navigation clearance height of 76.5 meters, it has set five world records. This bridge, the first in Guangdong to receive the George Richardson Medal, a prestigious award in the bridge engineering field, represents a significant achievement.
In the face of harsh conditions including high temperatures, humidity, salt exposure, and frequent strong typhoons, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge has set five world records: it boasts the largest span for an offshore suspension bridge, the highest navigation clearance, the largest anchorage volume in the sea, the highest tensile strength for main cables, and the highest wind speed for flutter testing.
On the east artificial island of Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, China's first underwater interchange for a highway is located. The west artificial island serves as a transition point between the sea bridge and underwater tunnel. Designed in a diamond shape, this island covers an area of approximately 137,000 square meters, equivalent to about 19 football fields in size.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge features the world's longest and widest underwater immersed tube tunnel, as well as the world's first dual-direction eight-lane steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnel. It stretches approximately 6.8 kilometers in total length (with the immersed tube section being about 5 kilometers), consisting of 32 tube segments and one final joint.
The construction team of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge introduced a groundbreaking new structure for steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnels, a first of its kind in China. They overcame significant global challenges such as manufacturing and prefabrication of steel shells, as well as ultra-long-distance floating installation. Their achievements include setting world records for precise millimeter-level installation accuracy under deep-water conditions for large tube segments.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News
