Zhijinghe River Bridge, Steel arch bridge in Badong County, China
The Zhijinghe River Bridge is a concrete-filled steel tubular arch bridge carrying the G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway between Yesanguan and Dazhiping in Badong County, Hubei. Its 430-metre main span is formed by eight steel tubes of 1,200 mm diameter, braced together and filled with concrete, and the deck runs from tunnel to tunnel on the valley's slopes.
The bridge opened in 2009 and represented a major achievement in Chinese bridge engineering at the time of its completion. It became part of the transportation network connecting eastern and western regions of the country.
The bridge connects different communities within the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, supporting local transportation and economic development.
The deck runs between two tunnels on the G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway, on the Enshi–Yichang section, so there is no stopping on the bridge itself. Views of the 294 m arch come from the approach roads and from the towns of Yesanguan and Dazhiping. Snow fell heavily in winter 2007 and an earthquake struck on 12 May 2008 during construction.
The deck runs tunnel to tunnel, so drivers never leave the mountainside before crossing the 294-metre drop. The arch is built from eight steel tubes 1,200 mm in diameter, filled with low-shrinkage C50 concrete pumped in over 8 to 12 hours per tube. The world's highest bridge, the Sidu River Bridge, lies only 20 km east on the same G50 expressway.
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