Jinshajiang Railway Bridge Hutiaoxia

Jinshajiang Railway Bridge Hutiaoxia
虎跳峡金沙江特大桥
Hutiaoxiazhen, Yunnan, China
820 feet high / 250 meters high
2,165 foot span / 660 meter span
2020

The design for the Tiger Leaping Gorge Railway Bridge crossing was studied for many years before the engineers finally decided to go with a 660 meter span truss stiffened suspension bridge that ranks among the 10 longest span railway bridges in the world. Located just a kilometer downstream of the equally impressive expressway suspension bridge, these two sister spans will surely become the most iconic bridge structures in Yunnan Province and a favorite of the millions of photo and video hungry tourists passing under the spans as they travel along the main road leading into the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge scenic spot. The new railway line will allow a fast travel time of around one hour between the tourist cities of Lijiang and Shangri-La.

Prior to the suspension bridge scheme, engineers had planned a more conventional steel arch structure with a main span of 416 meters that would have ranked among the longest railway arch spans in the world. A cantilever truss arch with a span of 384 meters was also designed for the site.

Since both Jinshajiang Hutiaoxia bridges were designed to allow reservoir water over 200 meters deep to fill beneath them, the engineers might have felt a cleaner, single span leap across the lake would look nicer and avoid issues related to having large sections of the bridge structure under water.

Environmental groups and tourism businesses in the region are fighting the planners of the Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam to preserve the natural state of the river and the gorge and with so many tourists vital to the economies of both Lijiang and Shangri-La, there is a good chance it will never be built.

The tallest tower of the Jinshajiang Railway Bridge Hutiaoxia is reported to be 194 meters tall with at least 120 meters of that total for the pier below the bottom level of the truss. This gives the bridge a signature look of being supported on stilts but also reduced the length of the main span. The second tower is 155 meters tall supporting a total span configuration of 132+660+132 meters. The truss depth is unknown but will probably be at least 12 meters ranking 3rd in the world after the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan and the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge.