An aerial view of the Tieshan Port Cross-Sea Mega Bridge under construction. [Photo by Lan Yongqian/Guangxi Daily]

The last 30-meter box girder of the Tieshan Port Cross-Sea Mega Bridge was installed to its designated place on Sept 26, marking the full connection of the bridge.

The bridge is part of the renovation and expansion project for the Qinzhou-Beihai section of the Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway. It is located near the intersection of Guangxi's Hepu county and Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, going over Tieshan Port.

The 4,279-meter bridge, the largest cross-sea bridge in Guangxi, is built at the right side of the current 2,898-meter bridge. Upon its operation, the new bridge will help split the traffic flow and the current bridge will be renovated to be the left part of the new bridge, expanding the bridge from its current dual four-lane one to a dual eight-lane one with a designated speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour. 

Wei Chengyuan of the renovation and expansion project noted that the project is the first technological demonstrative project recognized by the Ministry of Transport in Guangxi and has set up centralized mud treatment stations to realize mud recycling. Advanced and reasonable construction equipment and techniques were applied to minimize impacts of the construction on the regional mangrove ecosystem.

The project is expected to increase the road transportation capacity between the Beibu Gulf in Guangxi and the Pearl River Delta, becoming one of the most convenient passages for Guangxi to connect with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.