The Huangmao Sea Channel bridge, a major part of the integrated multidimensional transportation networks in south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, is scheduled to open to traffic at 15:00 local time (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, after four and a half years of busy construction.
The bridge, connecting Zhuhai City and Jiangmen City in south China's Guangdong Province, is another mega cross-sea channel project after the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao cross-sea mega bridge and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel in the area.
The installation of all electromechanical equipment for the bridge has been completed, according to Guangdong provincial transportation authorities.
The construction of the Huangmao Sea Channel bridge began on June 6, 2020. Measuring about 31 kilometers in total length, the sea channel bridge adopts a standard two-way six-lane highway structure with a designed speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Once the sea channel bridge is operational, the travel time between Zhuhai and Jiangmen will be cut from over an hour to just around 30 minutes.
During the construction period of approximately four and a half years, the Huangmao Sea Channel bridge has witnessed the achievement of seven domestic first-of-its-kind technological innovations.
These include the pioneering of a new structure featuring hyperbolic single-column reinforced concrete cable towers and the development of a high-performance structural system and energy dissipation devices for a multi-tower cable-stayed bridge with ultra-long spans over the sea.
The project to build the sea channel bridge, for the first time ever, has applied a set of aerodynamic control measures for flutter and vortex-induced vibration of split steel box girders. The project has established an integrated design-construction technology system for hyperbolic irregularly shaped cable towers, developed TY-type pier construction techniques for fully offshore marine environments, and improved the alignment control methods for constructing ultra-wide split steel box girders.
Additionally, the project has applied a precision control measurement technology for cross-sea construction based only on the Chinese-made BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).
The landmark project represents yet another milestone in the development of the Greater Bay Area city cluster, which is expected to further enhance connectivity and foster economic integration in the Greater Bay Area, which is a megalopolis comprising the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as well as nine cities in the neighboring Guangdong Province.
China aims to build the bay area into a role model of high-quality development, an international first-class bay area and a world-class city cluster, as a key development strategy in the country's reform and opening up.
South China's Greater Bay Area to see opening of new sea channel bridge
