Yachi Railway Bridge

Yachi Railway Bridge
鸭池河特大桥
Daguanzhen, Guizhou, China
(919) feet high / (280) meters high
1,430 foot span / 436 meter span
2018

The Yachi Railway Bridge is not only impressive for its height of nearly 300 meters but for having an epic main arch span of 436 meters. Among railway-only steel arch bridges, only the Nujiang and the Xijiang have longer main spans. Designed for high speed trains on the line from Guiyang to Chengdu, the twin track structure is composed of a steel-concrete composite truss. The main ribs lean 4.62 degrees inward forming a basket-handle arch shape with suspenders for the central section. The approach spans on either side of the main arch are also unique being composed of a cantilevered T-beam of 2x61.75 meters.

Spanning a deep reservoir from a downstream dam, the Yachi Railway Bridge is approximately 230 meters above the surface of the lake. The Wu River has a greater number of high bridges across its waters then any other river on earth with almost two dozen crossings exceeding 100 meters in height. Approximately 45 kilometers upstream of the Yachi Railway Bridge is the Najiehe Railway Bridge which is the highest railway span in China at 310 meters.

Although not as large as Yachi, the Xixihe Railway arch bridge is also located on the Guiyang-Chengduu line and is one of the world's 10 highest railway bridges at 256 meters. The entire line measures 651 kilometers in length.