Difference between revisions of "Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang"

Revision as of 20:28, 25 August 2016

Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang
北盘江岩架大
Xingbeizhen, Guizhou, China
295 feet high / 90 meters high
459 foot span / 140 meter span
2010

The concrete Beipanjiang Huajiang arch bridge was completed in 2009 as a bypass to the older 2-lane Huajiang stone bridge that was too low in height to still function within the deep reservoir that was completed in 2009 from a downstream dam. The gorge setting motivated the engineers to build the main arch rib as two large halves on scaffolding high along the edge of the cliffs. With the arch springing built upon a rotating foundation they swung both halves out over the gorge in one day and connected them at the crown. This rotation construction method is rarely used anymore outside China and allows the builders to avoid expensive high lines and cable stays to hold the arch pieces in place.

Just 2 kilometers downstream of the Beipanjiang Huajiang Bridge is the Beipanjiang Guanxing suspension bridge that was the highest in the world from 2003 to 2005.

A view of the Beipanjiang River gorge about 2 miles (3 kms) upstream of the bridge. You can faintly see the suspension bridge towers in the upper right. The footbridge you see in the foreground is for the construction of a new arch bridge that bypassed the stone arch bridge from 1961. This bypass was necessary as a dam was completed in 2009 and flooded the river valley beneath a deep reservoir. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

The older road to Huajiang crossed the Beipanjiang River on this stone arch bridge from 1961. The bridge was finally closed sometime in 2010 when a new concrete arch bypassed it with a main span of 459 feet (140 meters). Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

The replacement arch was constructed by forming the two halves of the arch on falsework built high up along the hillside. The two halves were then rotated out over the river on August 24th of 2009. The Chinese are the only bridge builders in the world that still use this innovative technique.

The two arch halves are held back by cables that pass through the concrete pier and down to the base.

The massive concrete piers are slowly rotated using an old fashioned pulley system.