The longest, most amazing and breathtaking bridges in China. Hangzhou Bridge in China - the longest bridge in the world How bridges are built in China

Hangzhou Bridge is the longest transoceanic bridge in the world, crossing the Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea and the Qiantang River. Its length is about 36 kilometers and its height is 62 meters.

The bridge was built in four years, then closed testing was carried out for several more months. According to experts, the bridge has withstood 19 typhoons and many tides.

Construction of the bridge began simultaneously on the southern and northern shores of the bay in June 2003. It was important that both parts of the bridge matched exactly when they met.

The traditional method of visual observation used by builders to ensure the joining of bridges was not suitable due to the large distance between the banks, in conditions of heavy rain and thick fog. Therefore, global positioning systems using satellites were used, which calculate points on the earth's surface with an accuracy of several centimeters. The base stations of this system were installed in Hangzhou Bay on opposite shores and maintained communication with the satellite.

Each pile received a unique permanent address with its own latitude and longitude, so that the system could find it for accurate installation of the structure already on the water. The pile driving barges had two systems that communicated with a base station on shore and found the exact coordinates of the structure. This method revolutionized bridge construction.

Almost all the components of the longest transoceanic bridge in the world were cast on the ground, after which the finished structures were transported to the installation site. In addition, in order to drive six thousand piles into the seabed, a huge hammer was needed. For this purpose, a special floating privateer of gigantic size and incredible power was built.

In May 2008, a cable-stayed bridge connected two Chinese cities - Shanghai and Ningbo (Zhejiang Province).

Previously, their residents had to “make a circle” 400 km long and spend five hours on the road to get from one city to another. Thanks to this bridge, the journey has been shortened by more than 320 km, and the maximum travel time between cities is now one hour.

It is noteworthy that in the middle of the bridge there is an island platform where drivers can rest and continue their journey with renewed vigor. In fact, the island stands on stilts, thereby not interfering with the natural currents in the bay.

The project embodies more than 250 technical innovations. Thus, the bridge is equipped with the most advanced passive safety systems, including dividing the roadway into seven zones with different lighting. This idea arose for a reason - it helps reduce driver fatigue.

This bridge is also unique in that each lamp placed on the road is equipped with a special automatic control unit, due to which the brightness of the lamps and their activation are automatically adjusted depending on the volume of traffic flow. In order to monitor the movement of vehicles, CCTV cameras are installed every half kilometer.

The Chinese Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which spans Hangzhou Bay, is today considered the longest transoceanic bridge in the world. Its length is just over 35 kilometers. It's possible to go as fast as you can there, but the maximum speed on the bridge is limited to 100 kilometers per hour.

(5 photos of the world's longest bridge, Hangzhou)

The opening of the bridge took place after four years of construction in 2007. Then the bridge was opened only for a test drive of cars, and the bridge was opened for public use a year later.

The Hangzhou Bay Bridge is built in an “S” shape. This is not due to a love of originality. Some sources claim that this shape was given to the bridge in order to make it more stable during high tides. But the main reason for this bridge shape lies elsewhere. In real life, there are no absolutely straight roads anywhere - this is a well-known fact. Motorists on such roads do not have much time to relax, because they constantly need to concentrate as much as possible and be extremely attentive. Therefore, on those roads where tortuosity and straightness are reasonably combined, the accident rate is much lower.

Since humanity conquered the ocean and began to build bridges across it, which were supposed to be the shortest route from one point to another, direct roads have appeared on which, unfortunately, the accident rate has not decreased even after the introduction of speed limits. It is known that long bridges have a soporific effect on drivers, and the longer the bridge, the more it lulls their vigilance. It was to combat this that the longest bridge in the whole world was given not a straight, but a winding shape. And on top of that, in order to drive away the first signs of drowsiness from motorists, the bridge along its entire length is decorated with flashing lights of a variety of colors.

There are situations when fatigue is so strong that nothing can overcome it. For such moments, there is a place to rest in the very middle of the bridge: a small restaurant, a hotel and a spherical observation deck.

Hangzhou Bridge is the longest transoceanic bridge in the world, crossing the Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea and the Qiantang River. Its length is about 36 kilometers and its height is 62 meters.

The bridge was built in four years, then closed testing was carried out for several more months. According to experts, the bridge has withstood 19 typhoons and many tides.

Construction of the bridge began simultaneously on the southern and northern shores of the bay in June 2003. It was important that both parts of the bridge matched exactly when they met.

In May 2008, a cable-stayed bridge connected two Chinese cities - Shanghai and Ningbo (Zhejiang Province).

Real miracles happen in the Celestial Empire, where technological progress goes hand in hand into the future with ancient traditions. China is a country that in the very near future, despite its huge population, will become the richest and most powerful in the world.

It is in the Celestial Empire that the largest amount of products consumed on our planet is produced.

There is a common belief that anything labeled “Made in China” is considered to be of poor quality and not durable. Perhaps there is some truth in this, but this applies to those household items, clothing, electronics, etc., that are made in artisanal conditions. But everything that is done in China for the indigenous population can be safely labeled as “the best.” A striking example of technological progress in China and its developed economy is the transoceanic bridge called Hangzhou. This is a real industrial wonder of the world, the like of which cannot be found anywhere in the world.

The Hangzhou Bridge in China crosses the sea (East China) and the Yangtze River Delta.

The length of this landmark of the Middle Kingdom is 36 kilometers. Until 2011, it was the largest bridge in the world; now it ranks second, but is also considered the longest transoceanic bridge. By the way, the bridge that displaced Hangzhou from first place is also located in China, it is called Qingdao and, as you might guess, was put into operation in 2011. The Hangzhou Bridge was not built to surprise the whole world; it was built to connect the provinces of Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Naturally, before the opening of the Hangzhou Bridge, it was possible to get from this province to one of the largest cities in the Middle Kingdom, where a huge number of factories and industrial enterprises are located, via a separate highway. True, this journey took the car driver 4 hours. Transporting raw materials on huge trucks took even more time. Time in China is worth its weight in gold, this is once again confirmed by the Hangzhou Bridge. He reduced the travel time by as much as 2 (!) hours. “What is 2 hours?” - any resident of Europe may ask. For a Chinese, two hours is a luxury. To save this time and shorten the path between the developed economic province and the other side of the Yangtze Delta, a bridge was built, which cost the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom $1 billion 420 million. This amount provides the clearest definition of what time means to the Chinese. If we calculate savings not in time, but in fuel, then the Hangzhou Bridge in China has reduced the distance from the provincial city of Ningbo to Shanghai by 120 kilometers. By the way, the population of the provincial “town” of Ningbo is more than 5.5 million people. Reducing the distance between this city and the majestic Shanghai became vital after the start of market reforms in the Middle Kingdom.

If you look at the Chinese Hangzhou Bridge from a bird's eye view, you will notice that it is shaped like a giant Latin letter “S”.

This form was not developed by engineers because of technical difficulties, of which, by the way, many arose during the construction of the longest transoceanic bridge. This was done in order to prevent major car accidents. According to numerous studies, the driver of a car driving over a bridge over a body of water can fall asleep even at noon. The shape of the letter “S” forces a person to constantly monitor the road and, thus, not to lose vigilance.

The chief engineer, who, together with other authoritative architects, developed the design of the Hangzhou Wang Yong Bridge, repeatedly stated after the ceremonial commissioning of the bridge that this bridge is not just the longest, it is the most important and most necessary for the whole world. There is no exaggeration in his words: firstly, thanks to the longest transoceanic bridge, China’s economy has taken a step forward, which means that people around the world will be able to receive even more products; secondly, the complex design of the bridge showed what humanity is capable of in the 21st century.

To be fair, we note that the development of the project began back in 1994. All calculations were completed only by 2003; construction of the longest bridge in the world at that time began in June. The Hangzhou Bridge in China was built in record time. Testing began in 2008. The grand opening of the bridge and its commissioning took place in 2009. Surprisingly, even the Chinese themselves, who know firsthand what a feat of labor is, did not expect to build a 36-kilometer bridge so quickly in difficult conditions. According to the approved plan, the bridge was to be put into operation for the Expo 2010 exhibition. The construction of a cable-stayed bridge that connected the shores of the East China Sea bay can easily be called fantastic. In order to bring the grandiose plan to life, engineers and the contractor had to conduct a lot of research over nine years. The thing is that the stream of the Qiantang River, which flows into the East China Sea, is considered a natural miracle of China. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come to see this Chinese miracle every year. Their attention is attracted by several water currents in this area and the huge waves that arise when the river flows into the sea. In addition, the climate in Hangzhou Bay cannot be called favorable: destructive typhoons sweep over it two or three times a month.

In addition, the area over which the Hangzhou Bridge lies is considered seismically dangerous. It is impossible to even imagine what difficulties the architects and builders overcame during the construction of this industrial wonder of the world. According to the results of research and consultations with the most authoritative architects of our time, it was decided that the Hangzhou Bridge will be cable-stayed (built using cables). This bridge design best suits the terrain. The depths of the Yangtze Delta and the East China Sea are characterized by sharp changes. Moreover, underwater studies revealed that the bottom in many areas where the Hangzhou cable-stayed bridge was supposed to be built was characterized by heterogeneous mass. But this was not the main difficulty: in the place where the bridge was built, emissions of natural gas from the depths of the sea were constantly observed. Thanks to another study and a series of works carried out, the Chinese have even solved this problem. They changed the characteristics of the soil, which made it possible to distribute and predict the release of gas.

The metal structures from which the bridge was made were cast in giant blast furnaces (on land, of course), and then they were transported on huge ships and floating platforms to the sites where installation was carried out. Naturally, all these gigantic structures and girders had to be unloaded and installed in their place. This problem was solved with the help of huge floating cranes. Each of these units contained an electronic device that, with centimeter precision, allowed them to drop an anchor.

As mentioned above, 1,420,000,000 US dollars, or almost 12 billion Chinese yuan, were spent on the construction of the Hangzhou Bridge. The amount is huge, but thanks to private investments and government investments, the longest, by the way, and most reliable transoceanic bridge in the world was born. Indeed, this bridge is almost completely safe, as confirmed not only by the Chinese themselves, but also by numerous architects and engineers from Europe and the United States of America. Firstly, it is built in the shape of the letter “S”, which prevents the driver from falling asleep at the wheel, secondly, it is guaranteed by the contractor for 100 years and, thirdly, this bridge will not even flinch during an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 ,5 points. In addition, engineers decided throughout the entire bridge, which is 33 meters wide and 62 meters high above the water surface, to place light diodes at certain intervals, which constantly change their color and concentrate the driver’s attention. By the way, the height of the bridge is 62 meters above sea level, which makes it possible for container ships belonging to the fourth and even fifth generation (!) to pass under it.

The Hangzhou Bridge in China consists of 6 lanes: three lanes go from Jiaxing to Ningbo and three lanes back. By the way, according to the original plan, the bridge was planned to begin in Shanghai, but the authorities of this huge metropolis and its indigenous residents protested: they referred to the fact that the Hangzhou bridge would lead to numerous traffic jams in the multimillion-dollar city. The project developers carefully weighed everything and came to the conclusion that there is common sense in the protests of Shanghai residents, so Hangzhou originates in the less populated Jiaxing and passes through Shanghai.

Hangzhou Bridge - one of the main attractions of China

Since its official commissioning in 2009, the Hangzhou Bridge has carried about 50 thousand vehicles from Jiaxing to Ningbo and back every day. By the way, guests of Shanghai quite often hire a taxi to take a ride around this gigantic and amazing technical landmark. It is interesting that Chinese engineers decided to make a branch in the middle of the bridge to... island. Surprisingly, the island, which has an area of 10,000 sq. meters, artificial! Initially, it was supposed to be built so that a tired driver could rest on it.

However, just six months after the opening of Hangzhou, the Chinese noticed that this artificial island had become wildly popular among tourists. Naturally, the giant structure itself is of interest, but even more tourists are fascinated by the river flowing into the East China Sea. The attention to the artificial island from the guests of the Celestial Empire did not go unnoticed by the Chinese. In just six months, enterprising residents of the most populous country on our planet built a whole complex of hotels, restaurants, gas stations and a comfortable observation deck on an island in the middle of the Hangzhou Bridge. Even the island of the longest transoceanic bridge in the world has begun to bring profit to the Chinese economy.

Qingdao Gaiwan. The world's longest bridge

The Chinese province of Shandong, located on the peninsula of the same name in the Yellow Sea, recently became popular because of the miracle of modern construction technologies that appeared there. The longest bridge for cars across the water has been built across Jiaozhou Bay, connecting the city and port of Qingdao with the suburban area and the city of Huangdao.

The length of the Qingdao Bridge is 42.5 kilometers, and the width of the six-lane giant is 35 m. The maximum height of the main support reaches 149 m, and their number is 5200. The carrying capacity is up to thirty thousand cars per day.

10 thousand people took part in the grandiose construction over 4 years. The costs amounted to about 60 billion yuan. The steel used to build the bridge was enough to power 60 Eiffel Towers. Designers and developers talk about the sufficient strength of the structure, which can withstand a strong typhoon or an 8-magnitude earthquake, which is not uncommon in these places. The opening of the bridge took place in June 2011 and became an “incident” on a global scale.

Before the construction of Qingdao Gaiwan, Hangzhou Bay was considered the longest bridge in the world spanning the sea.

The Hangzhou Bridge in China, which is considered the longest bridge across the sea, and the Qingdao Bridge, which is considered the longest in the world, once again prove that China can work miracles and build the most technically complex structures. Surely, in the very near future, when the population of the Earth will choose 7 new industrial wonders of the world, this list will include Hangzhou, with its comfortable artificial island, and the Qingdao Bridge, under which the clouds float.

Hangzhou Bridge

Qingdao Bridge

The longest sea bridge in the world has opened in China. The bridge is a road bridge; its path runs through the Yellow Sea. The total length of the structure is just over 41 kilometers!

The bridge crosses Hangzhou Bay in the East China Sea, as well as the Qiantang River, and is the longest bridge in the world (by sea), with a length of 36 km. The longest bridge in the world, Hangzhou Bay, in addition to its length, is also one of the most beautiful bridges in the world.

There is an opinion that the Chinese cannot produce good goods and, accordingly, cannot build reliable buildings. But the construction of Olympic facilities in Beijing, as well as other mega-constructions in China, have repeatedly proven the opposite. The construction of the Hangzhou Bridge also breaks our prejudices.

So, the longest bridge in the world, Hangzhou, is built in the shape of the letter S and is a very important section of the east coast highway. The bridge begins in the north in Jiaxing and ends in Ningbo in southern China.

Thanks to the construction of the Hangzhou Bridge, the distance of land transport to Shanghai from Ningbo was reduced by 120 km, and travel time was reduced from 4 hours to 2. The speed limit on the highway is 100 km/h, and the road has three lanes in each direction. Every day the bridge carries up to 50 thousand vehicles. In the middle of the Hangzhou Bridge, an island was built for drivers to relax, where you can get a full range of services, including restaurants and hotels.

Construction of the Hangzhou Bridge began in 2003 and ended in 2009. The bridge was launched in 2009. The design cost of the longest bridge in the world was 1.42 billion US dollars.

The chief engineer of the Hangzhou Bridge, Wang Yong, said that this bridge is the most important bridge not only in China, but also in the world. The Hangzhou Bridge is not only the longest bridge in the world (by sea), but also built in a difficult environment, typhoons often occur here, the seabed is very heterogeneous, and one of the strongest currents on earth flows in this place. There is also a danger of gas emissions in this place, but special studies were carried out and the likelihood of damage to the bridge by these emissions was reduced to zero.

The cable-stayed bridge design (supported by cables) for the longest bridge in the world was chosen to withstand the harsh environment. The bridge was also designed in accordance with the seismic characteristics of the region, and is designed to maintain the integrity of the bridge during an earthquake of up to 7 points on the Richter scale. The total length of cables used during construction was 32.2 km.

Almost all the components of the future longest bridge in the world were cast on the ground, after which the finished structures were transported to the installation site. Giant floating cranes were used to install the spans.