Si Du River Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Si Du River Bridge is a 1222 metres (4,009.2 ft) long suspension bridge
crossing the valley of the Si Du River near Yesanguan in Badong County of the Hubei Province
of the People's Republic of China
. The bridge was designed by CCSHCC Second Highway Consultants Company, Ltd. and built at a cost of 720 million yuan (approximately US$100 million). It opened to traffic on November 15, 2009.
, an east-west route between Shanghai
and Chengdu
,
crossing the wide belt of mountains that separate the Sichuan Basin
from the lowlands of eastern Hubei. The Yangtze River
pierces the same mountain belt some 50 km to the north, forming the famous Three Gorges. The Yiwan Railway
, completed in 2010 and running parallel to the highway, has been described as China's most difficult to build and most expensive (per km) rail line.
The bridge spans a 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) deep valley of the Si Du River (a left tributary of the Qingjiang River), and has superseded the Royal Gorge Bridge
and the Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge
as the highest bridge in the world.
The height measurement from the bottom of the gorge has been reported as 496 meters by Eric Sakowski, 500 meters by Chongxu Wang, and 550 meters by Yinbo Liu.It is not clear that these sources are measuring to the same point on the bridge. Some may be measuring from the bottom of the gorge to the top of the towers, explaining some of the discrepancies in the numbers reported. In addition to the numbers reported by Sakowski, Liu, and Wang, there are additional less-reliable sources on the internet that report the height at 560 meters.
The first part of the suspension cable installed, a rope known as the pilot cable, was the first-ever to be placed using a rocket. Conditions at the bridge's location would not allow the use of boats or helicopters, which have previously been used to string the first cable. The rockets carried the pilot cables across on October 6, 2006 and resulted in time and cost savings.
The main suspension cable are made of 127 parallel wire strands bundled into a hexagonal shape. Each strand is made of 127 wires (also making a hexagonal shape so that there is a total of 16,129 wires in each of the two main suspension cables. Each cable can hold 191960 kilonewtons (191,960,000 N).
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
crossing the valley of the Si Du River near Yesanguan in Badong County of the Hubei Province
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The bridge was designed by CCSHCC Second Highway Consultants Company, Ltd. and built at a cost of 720 million yuan (approximately US$100 million). It opened to traffic on November 15, 2009.
Geography
The bridge is part of the new G50 Hurong Expressway that parallels China National Highway 318China National Highway 318
China National Highway 318 runs from Shanghai to Zhangmu on the China-Nepal border. It is 5,476 kilometres in length and runs west from Shanghai towards Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, and ends in Tibet. One notable section of this road is the Si Du River Bridge, the bridge with the...
, an east-west route between Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
,
crossing the wide belt of mountains that separate the Sichuan Basin
Sichuan basin
The Sichuan Basin is a lowland region in southwestern China. Despite its historical name, it is not only synonymous to Sichuan province, comprising its central and eastern portions as well as part of Chongqing Municipality...
from the lowlands of eastern Hubei. The Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
pierces the same mountain belt some 50 km to the north, forming the famous Three Gorges. The Yiwan Railway
Yiwan Railway
The Yichang–Wanzhou Railway, or the Yiwan Railway connects the cities of Yichang and Wanzhou via Lichuan, in the central People's Republic of China. It was completed in 2010, and will be part of the future Huhanrong Passenger Dedicated Line from Shanghai to Wuhan to Chengdu...
, completed in 2010 and running parallel to the highway, has been described as China's most difficult to build and most expensive (per km) rail line.
The bridge spans a 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) deep valley of the Si Du River (a left tributary of the Qingjiang River), and has superseded the Royal Gorge Bridge
Royal Gorge Bridge
The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado, within a theme park. The bridge deck hangs above the Arkansas River, and held the record of highest bridge in the world from 1929 until 2003, when it was surpassed by the Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge in China. It is a...
and the Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge
Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge
Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge is a 366 metre high suspension bridge at Xingbei Town , Zhenfeng County, Guizhou Province, China. The bridge has a span width of 388 metres...
as the highest bridge in the world.
Design and construction
The bridge's design includes H-shaped towers, a truss-stiffened main span, and unsuspended side spans. The Warren-type trusses were constructed in seventy one sections with the largest section weighing 91.6 metric tons (101 ST). The trusses are 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) tall and 26 metres (85.3 ft) wide.The height measurement from the bottom of the gorge has been reported as 496 meters by Eric Sakowski, 500 meters by Chongxu Wang, and 550 meters by Yinbo Liu.It is not clear that these sources are measuring to the same point on the bridge. Some may be measuring from the bottom of the gorge to the top of the towers, explaining some of the discrepancies in the numbers reported. In addition to the numbers reported by Sakowski, Liu, and Wang, there are additional less-reliable sources on the internet that report the height at 560 meters.
The first part of the suspension cable installed, a rope known as the pilot cable, was the first-ever to be placed using a rocket. Conditions at the bridge's location would not allow the use of boats or helicopters, which have previously been used to string the first cable. The rockets carried the pilot cables across on October 6, 2006 and resulted in time and cost savings.
The main suspension cable are made of 127 parallel wire strands bundled into a hexagonal shape. Each strand is made of 127 wires (also making a hexagonal shape so that there is a total of 16,129 wires in each of the two main suspension cables. Each cable can hold 191960 kilonewtons (191,960,000 N).
External links
- Siduhe River Bridge on HighestBridges.com
- Good photo with hi-res version, from Panoramio