Construction of the Dafengqiao Bridge kicks off in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Oct 22. [Photo by Huang Chun for chinadaily.com.cn]

Construction of the Dafengqiao Bridge, one of the two major projects on the Guangxi Binhai Expressway, kicked off in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Oct 22.

Stretching from Paotai village in Qinzhou's Qinnan district to Shenkeng village in Beihai's Hepu county, Dafengqiao Bridge is expected to greatly shorten the travel time and distance between Qinzhou and Beihai, boost the development of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, as well as accelerate the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in Western China.

Dafengqiao Bridge, along with Longmen Bridge, the largest cross-sea bridge in Guangxi, will connect the Guangxi Binhai Expressway, forming a one-hour transportation circle linking the main urban areas in Beihai, Qinzhou, and Fangchenggang.

The project is designed to meet the navigation demands of 500-metric-ton seagoing vessels and the bridge will be built according to the standards for first-level two-way six-lane expressways with a designated speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

The bridge has a total investment of 1.05 billion yuan ($156.98 million) and the construction is expected to last for about four years.

The design sketch of Dafengqiao Bridge. [Photo provided by Guangxi Communications Investment Group Corporation Ltd]