Mengdonghe Yongji Footbridge

Mengdonghe Yongji Footbridge
猛洞河特大桥
Gaopingxiang, Hunan, China
574 feet high / 175 meters high
1,266 foot span / 386 meter span
2015-2017

One of the longest construction footbridge spans ever constructed, the giant Mengdonghe Yongji Footbridge stretched 386 meters between anchorages. The 1.8 meter wide wood plank deck was supported by 6 parallel cables.

Like many of China's gorges, this section of the Mengdonghe River is partially submerged under a deep reservoir that left the footbridge approximately 150 meters high during most of its short life span of 3 years.

The CFST or concrete filled steel tubular arch of Mengdong is a creation of Chinese engineers since they first used in 1990 and is now the common method to build steel arch bridges throughout China's western provinces, especially when crossing a deep gorge or ravine. The Mengdonghe Yongji and Mengdonghe Zhanghua are nearly identical arch bridges and both crossings had similar footbridges of great height and length during their construction.