China is rolling out several megaprojects that will transform its transportation system, according to Business Insider.
Over the next decade, China plans to attract 250 million people (29 times more than New Yorkers) to the country’s growing metropolitan areas. To cope with this huge migration, the country has invested tens of billions of dollars in gigantic infrastructure projects.
China opened the longest bridge in the world, which connected Macao and Hong Kong and the southern city of mainland China – Zhuhai.
The construction of the facility was completed with a delay of several years.
The project, which will be fully completed by 2021, cost more than $20 billion.
The total length of the bridge is 55 kilometers, including an underwater tunnel about 7 kilometers long, connecting the artificial islands.
The length of the main bridge is almost 30 km, for traffic there are three lanes in each direction.
Touted as an “engineering marvel”, the bridge is made of 420,000 tonnes of steel – enough to build 60 Eiffel Towers.
Some areas have slight slopes.
Construction has been underway since 2009, while taking into account environmental requirements so as not to harm the marine fauna of the region.
The tunnel and the sections with cable-stayed bridges were built in order to ensure the passage of high-capacity seagoing vessels.
The 2012 photo below shows artificial islands built by China for a bridge near Lantau Island in Hong Kong.
The project has been controversial due to its high cost, construction delays, alleged corruption and worker safety issues. Two workers died and 19 others were charged with falsifying actual test reports.
The project, called the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, will cut travel time in half.
Around 40,000 vehicles will use the bridge daily, including buses running every 10 minutes.
Taxis will not be allowed there and private cars will only be able to enter with special permits. Pedestrians are not allowed to enter at all.
It should be noted that today China holds the lead in building the longest bridge structures in the world. For example, the Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct in China is 165 km, and the second place is the Tianjin Viaduct – 113 km.
Until the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest sea bridge in operation remains the Qingdao Bay Bridge – 42.5 km. In Europe, the longest is the Vasco da Gama Bridge, built over the Tagus River in Lisbon (Portugal) – its length is 17.2 km, the surface part of which is 10 km.
It’s incredible! Is it possible?