Nujiang Railway Bridge Darui
Nujiang Railway Bridge Darui
大瑞铁路怒江大桥
Lamengxiang, Yunnan, China
696 feet high / 212 meters high
1,608 foot span / 490 meter span
2022
The Nujiang Railway Bridge Darui is the third longest span railway-only arch bridge in existence and one of the 10 longest arch bridges in the world with a main span of 490 meters. Located along the Dali to Ruili Railway line in Yunnan Province, the all steel bridge is also unique for having a station in the very center of the span since both ends of the 1,024 meter long structure terminate into long tunnels.
Although the Nujiang Railway Bridge is 212 meters high when the river is at normal flows, rare one in a hundred year floods can raise the Nu River level another 45 meters making the deck only 167 meters high. The 12 approach spans are 41 meters long while the 14 simple spans above the main arch are 37.2 meters long.
The location of the railway bridge is near the famous Songshan Battlefield where the battle of Mount Song took place in 1944 between Chinese Nationalist Forces and the Japanese Army. The Japanese Army was holed up in deep tunnels and bunkers high along the river slopes to block troops on the Burma Road from crossing the suspension bridge over the Nujiang River. The slow battle went on for many months with heavy casualties before the Japanese troops retreated and the Burma Road was once again open to aid China with supplies.
Nujiang Railway Bridge Darui Elevation
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The west railway tunnel is one of the 10 longest railway tunnels in the world excluding metro lines at 34.54 kilometers.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The highline construction towers will rank as the tallest in the world along with the Yachi Railway Bridge in nearby Guizhou Province.
Nujiang Railway Bridge foundation elevation drawing.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
A map showing the Burma Road in brown and some of the strategic locations during the Songshan Battle.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The original Burma Road with cobblestone bricks. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
An older rendering of the Nujiang Railway Bridge.
The Nujiang Railway Bridge station will be the highest in the world at 212 meters.
Nujiang Railway Bridge satellite image.
Nujiang Railway Bridge location map.
A map of the Dali to Ruili Railway line with the Nujiang River Bridge crossing at the very bottom left and the Lancanjiang River Bridge crossing in the upper right.
