Zhenzhu Bridge

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Zhenzhu Bridge
珍珠大桥
Wuchuan, Guizhou, China
367 feet high / 112 meters high
394 foot span / 120 meter span
2008

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A simple but beautifully proportioned concrete arch bridge, Zhenzhu is part of a new group of mid-sized concrete arch bridges in Western China.

The difficult location required the engineers to build the two halves of the arch vertically on hinges before lowering them down where they were joined at the crown. The rotating hinge is set at the arch foundation and then a half span 62 meters is poured vertically. The mass of the half side box is 610 tons and a 4 meter closure gap is left open in the arch crown.

Zhenzhu was built along the X350 road that was needed to avoid the new reservoir forming below the bridge from a downstream dam. The main rib arch rise is just 17.1 meters making for a shallow span to rise ratio of 7 to 1. The single box, three chamber concrete rib is 10 meters wide and 2.1 meters thick. The deck is 12.5 meters wide.

Originally the first attempt to construct an arch across the gorge ended in tragedy on November 5, 2005 when the truss support of the concrete arch collapsed killing 16 workers.


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Diagram showing the stays that held the arch half in place before it was lowered down over the canyon.


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Image by www.gog.com.cn.


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The remains of the collapsed steel truss arch support lie at the bottom of the canyon in 2005.


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Zhenzhu Bridge satellite image.


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A satellite view showing the Zhenzhu Bridge under construction towards the right.


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Zhenzhu Bridge location map.