Humen Pearl River Bridge, Road bridge in Dongguan and Guangzhou, China
Humen Pearl River Bridge carries the G9411 Dongguan–Foshan Expressway across the Humen waterway between Dongguan and Guangzhou. Its eastern part is a steel-box-girder suspension bridge with an 888 m main span and 60 m navigation clearance; the western part is a prestressed concrete continuous rigid-frame bridge with a 237 m main span. The deck has six lanes and a 30 m width.
Construction started in October 1992 and the structure opened on June 9, 1997, as the first major suspension bridge in China designed independently. Completion marked a milestone for domestic engineering capability in bridge building.
The bridge name comes from Humen, the town on the east bank, and its deck passes above the site of the Humen Forts, where Qing soldiers once guarded the waterway. The bridge company and government funds restored the fort ruins and built the Opium War Naval Battle Memorial Hall after construction damaged some barracks.
The crossing shortens the route between the banks of the Pearl River considerably and carries up to 200,000 vehicles each day. Travelers planning to cross should avoid peak commuting hours to bypass congestion.
The 237 m span belongs to the segmental concrete section over the Puzhou waterway, not to the suspension bridge; at its 1997 completion it ranked among the world's longest concrete spans of its kind. The suspension section's 888 m main span crosses the Humen waterway with 60 m of navigational clearance, then the tallest in China.
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