World's tallest bridge passes crucial test, promises connectivity

GUIYANG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The karst mountains of Guizhou Province in southwest China feature ravines so deep that locals call them "the Earth's cracks." At Huajiang Town, the Beipan River carves one such gorge, a relic of Triassic seas, etched into limestone cliffs, which once marked the limits of human passage.

Today, this chasm is no longer an insurmountable barrier to human travel. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, poised to become the tallest in the world, stretches across this abyss with its final test just completed on Monday. It was a load test for the weight of traffic on the bridge -- and it proved successful, thereby representing another big step in the quest to transform isolation into connection.

This load test, considered the final step before the bridge welcomes traffic, included both static and dynamic tests.

Ninety-six heavy trucks, weighing a combined 3,300 tonnes, rumbled in batches onto the deck in slow procession, parking at designated spots. Over 400 sensors across the bridge were tracking the tiniest shifts in the main span, towers, cables and suspenders.

The five-day testing process confirmed that the bridge's structural strength, stiffness and dynamic performance met safety standards. The bridge is expected to open to traffic in late September.

"This bridge is an unprecedented engineering feat," said Wu Zhaoming, project manager for the bridge construction process, who is with Guizhou Transportation Investment Group Co., Ltd. Wu added that the team overcame challenges ranging from controlling temperatures in massive concrete pours to securing slopes in the steep canyon terrain -- all while faced with powerful winds.

Construction began in January 2022, and the main span was joined earlier this year. Once open, the bridge will run 2,890 meters end to end, with its central span stretching 1,420 meters, making it the largest span bridge built in mountainous terrain worldwide. From deck to water it rises 625 meters -- a height that makes it the tallest bridge on Earth.

For local residents, the impact will be immediate. Travel across the canyon, which once took two hours, will shrink to just two minutes.

The bridge is also a key link on an expressway, forming part of Guizhou's ongoing push to knit together its rugged interior via modern highways.

The province, the only one in China without a single plain, has long relied on tunnels and bridges to overcome its jagged karst landscape. Guizhou is now home to more than 30,000 bridges, including the world's three tallest.

Nearly half of the world's top 100 highest bridges are located in Guizhou, earning it the nickname "the world's bridge museum." Together, Guizhou's built and under-construction spans measure more than 5,400 kilometers -- nearly the total north to south distance of the entire China.

For communities on both sides, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will be more than a record-breaker. It will be a development that turns an impassable gorge into a quick commute, and proof of how even China's most rugged terrain can be linked, one span at a time.  ■