(CNN) – Travel the beautiful route Yunnan Province of China Thanks to the world’s first single-tower, single-span suspension bridge that will open next month – it’s a little easier – and more exciting.
At 798 meters across the Lvzhijiang River Valley, the length of the bridge does not seem so extreme compared to some of the longest bridges in the world. But the complexity of the project is recognized as an engineering marvel.
The bridge hangs over the Lvzhijiang (which translates to “river of green juice”) and exits through tunnels that emerge from the steep hills on each side of the valley.
Long single-tower, single-span suspension bridge
The Lvzhijiang Bridge is a single-tower, single-span suspension bridge.
Credit: VCG / Getty Images
Officials say the bridge will break many world records.
Built in the V-shaped mountain valley The world’s first single-tower, single-span suspension bridge; It is supported only by a tower and is supported by cables at both ends. There are no extra columns, which gives it an impressive appearance as it transcends the force of gravity.
The single gap of the bridge, i.e. the distance between the supports is 780 meters. In addition, it has the world’s steepest tunnel anchor with a 54-degree angle, officials say.
Due to the rough terrain of the area, all major supporting elements, including the 156-meter-high tower, the bridge access slab at one end of the structure and the tunnel anchor at the other end of the structure are built on steep slopes.
Said the project manager Chinese state media “The height difference between the bridge floor and the assembly area is 320 meters, or about 100 floors … The complexity of this project is rare in China.”
The bridge connects the neighboring city of Yuxi with Yunnan’s Xujiang Yi Autonomous Province and reduces travel time to two minutes.
The maximum speed limit of the bridge is 100 km / h.
Construction began in 2019 and the project took about three years to complete. It is expected to open to traffic in late April 2022.
Connect Yunnan with other parts of China
Upon completion, the Lvzhijiang Bridge will reduce the journey between the two banks of the river from one and a half hours to two minutes.
Credit: VCG / Getty Images
Although both the city of Yuxi (famous for its tobacco production) and Xujiang, an autonomous region of the Yi tribe Dinosaur MuseumNot considered popular tourist destinations, the two areas are located in the heart of Yunnan Province, between major cities such as Kunming and Dali.
The Lvzhijiang Bridge is an important part of the expressway Yuchu Expressway190 kilometers, and the Yunnan road network, 9,000 kilometers.
The Yuchu Expressway connects Yunnan with other major national highways, namely the Hangzhou-Ruili Expressway (a city in western Yunnan bordering Myanmar) and the Guangzhou-Kunming Expressway.
Creating exceptional highways is not the only engineering achievement that this western Chinese province has achieved in recent months. In October 2021, a New high-speed rail line between China and Laos.