This article**: The people**.
Reporter Han Xin.
People** 2024-02-11 Edition 06).
A bridge flies north and south, and the moat becomes a thoroughfare.
Thousands of miles of the Yangtze River, galloping to the east. As the largest river in China, the Yangtze River runs from east to west and gave birth to Chinese civilization, but it also separates the land and blocks the north-south traffic. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, bridges across the river have been built one after another, which not only facilitates the travel and life of residents on both sides of the strait, but also paves the way for regional development. Overlooking the magnificent Yangtze River, "Changhong" is all over the place, and the passage on the moat is constantly expanding, like a smart bridge "museum", telling the progress of China's bridge construction and spreading the picture of the times of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Thousands of miles of Yangtze River, hundreds of bridges flying frame.
How many bridges are there on the Yangtze River?
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, since the construction of the first cross-river passage Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in 1955, as of December 2023, more than 140 cross-river passages, including roads, railways, municipal bridges and tunnels, have been built.
According to the "Layout Plan for Cross-river Passages of the Yangtze River Trunk Line (2020-2035)", by 2025, about 180 cross-river passages will be built; By 2035, about 240 cross-river passages will be built, and a cross-river channel system of the Yangtze River trunk line with reasonable layout, perfect functions, sufficient guarantees, and intensive and efficient will be fully formed.
Throughout the Yangtze River, bridges continue to record the sonorous footprints of China's bridge construction and development.
Upstream, at the entrance of Wuxia, the 612-meter-long Wushan Yangtze River Bridge in Chongqing is known as the "Yudong Gateway Bridge". The Yangtze River has always been a natural obstacle to the economic development of eastern Chongqing, which seriously restricts the planning and layout of Wushan's overall economic development. Chongqing Wushan Yangtze River Bridge started construction in December 2001, overcoming three world-class construction technical problems, becoming the first highway in the Yangtze River in the steel tube arch bridge, since the completion and opening to traffic in January 2005, not only smooth the traffic in eastern Chongqing, but also become a beautiful Three Gorges tourist landscape.
In the middle reaches, between the thoroughfares of nine provinces, China's first road-rail dual-purpose bridge - Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge has been strong and majestic after nearly 70 years of wind and rain. This "first bridge of the Yangtze River" was built in September 1955 and opened to traffic two years later, which is a milestone in the history of bridges in China, breaking the history of shipping across the Yangtze River since ancient times.
Downstream, the 6,772-meter-long Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, which was completed and opened to traffic in 1968, has become a key transportation node supporting the development of the Yangtze River Delta region. This is the first double-decker railway and highway dual-purpose bridge designed and built by New China on the Yangtze River, and the main bridge steel is all made of Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., which is known as the "Zhengqi Bridge", which opened the era of China's independent construction of large-scale bridges.
Looking downward, the Yangtze River estuary, composed of Chongqi Bridge, Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge and Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel, is the first "bridge + tunnel" combined river crossing channel that enters the Yangtze River by sea, which greatly shortens the travel distance between Shanghai and eastern Jiangsu, effectively promotes the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and is of great significance to the high-quality economic and social development of East China.
Bridges across the river, constantly crossing.
Across the long river of time, looking at the Yangtze River, the completion and opening of bridges to traffic, and the successive breakthroughs of records, behind the comprehensive upgrading of China's bridge construction technology and the continuous improvement of the industrial chain
According to the relevant person in charge of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, China's modern bridge construction has experienced independence in the early days of the founding of New China, learning and catching up in the 80s, and tracking and improvement in the 90s.
This process is also basically reflected in the construction of bridges across the Yangtze River.
The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, built in the first five-year plan of the People's Republic of China, has witnessed the development of China's long bridge technology from scratch.
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, built in 1960, initially had a lane that could accommodate four large cars in parallel. Under the bridge, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge has a maximum navigable water level of 24 meters, which can pass through 5,000-ton cargo ships.
In the 90s of the 20th century, the bridge cross-river project organized and implemented by the former Ministry of Communications promoted the development of highway long-span bridges, the construction of suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges made remarkable progress, and the concrete structure beam bridges and arch bridges have repeatedly broken the world record in the span.
Jiangsu Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, which was opened to traffic in September 1999, is China's first extra-large bridge with a span of more than 1,000 meters, and a set of scientific and effective suspension bridge construction and control technology has been established in the process of bridge design and construction, which has broken through many world-class problems such as steel box girder pavement laying and north anchor caisson with large temperature difference, and has accumulated successful experience for the construction of similar bridge projects in China.
With the continuous development of bridge construction technology, the Runyang Yangtze River Bridge, which is located in Jiangsu Province with the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, was opened to traffic in 2005, and the whole line adopts the standard design of two-way 6-lane expressway. Under the bridge, the Runyang Yangtze River Bridge is navigable with a net height of 50 meters and can pass 50,000-ton cargo ships. The construction of the Runyang Yangtze River Bridge has clearer ecological and environmental protection requirements. The bridge adopts an independent pavement drainage system, and the runoff water from the pavement is not directly discharged into the Yangtze River, reducing the impact on the water quality of the Yangtze River. During the construction of the bridge, the relevant waters were monitored in real time to better protect the finless porpoise, Chinese sturgeon and other animals in the construction section.