Jiangyin Suspension Bridge
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The Jiangyin Suspension Bridge is the most seaward bridge to cross the Yangtze River of China. It connects the cities of Jiangyin and Jingjiang. The main span of the bridge is 1,385 metres (4,544 ft) meters long, making it the fifth largest suspension bridge in the world and the largest in China at the time of its completion in 1999. With the completion of the Runyang Bridge in 2005 it became the second largest in China.
Located in the center of the Jiangsu Province, it carries the traffic from two national expressways; Tongjiang-Sanya Expressway on the east coast and the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway on the west. There are three traffic lanes in both directions and pedestrian sidewalks. The location of the bridge was selected because it is a spot where the river is narrow. The height clearance for river navigation is 50 metres (164 ft).
The bridge was planned so that it would be completed in time to mark the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution of 1947. It was the first long-span bridge of its kind to be designed in China. Foundation work began in 1994. Engineering, manufacture and construction of the bridge was completed in just less than three years. The concrete towers are 190 metres (623 ft) tall, roughly equivalent in height to a 60 story building. The main span is made of flat streamlined steel box girders. The steel deck was erected by raising pre-assembled units weighing up to 500 metric tons with jacks. (pictures) The side spans are made by pre-stressed continuous concrete girders. The bridge opened on September 28, 1999.
In 2002 the bridge received an award at the International Bridge Conference for "...outstanding achievement in bridge engineering that, through vision and innovation, provides an icon to the community for which it was designed." [1]
