Description The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge transects Jiaozhou Bay reducing the road distance between Qingdao and Huangdao by 30 km (19 mi) compared to the expressway along the coast of the bay.[4] The design of the bridge is T-shaped with the main entry and exit points in Huangdao and the Licang District of Qingdao. A branch to Hongdao Island is connected by a semi-directional T interchange to the main span.[5] The construction used 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres (81×106 cu ft) of concrete.[6] The bridge shall be able to withstand severe earthquakes, typhoons, and collisions with ships.[6] It is supported by 5,238 concrete piles.[7] The cross section consists of two beams in total 35 m (115 ft) wide carrying six lanes with two shoulders. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge has three navigable sections: the Cangkou Channel Bridge to the west, the Dagu Channel Bridge to the east, and the Hongdao Channel Bridge to the north. The 600 metres (2,000 ft) long Cangkou Channel Bridge has with 260 m (850 ft) the largest span of the entire Jiaozhou Bay Bridge. The Hongdao Channel Bridge has a span of 120 m (390 ft). The non-navigable sections of the bridge have a span of 60 m (200 ft).[1] Length The length of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is 26.7 km (16.6 mi), whereof 25.9 km (16.1 mi) are over water.[1] It is part of a new 28 km (17 mi) long section of the Qingdao to Lanzhou highway.[8][4] The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is part of the Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project which includes overland expressways and the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay tunnel. The aggregated length of the project is 41.58 km (25.84 mi) which is by many sources listed as length of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge.[6][9][10][11] The Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project consists of two non-connected sections: a 35.4 km (22.0 mi) long expressway that includes the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge and a 6.17 km (3.83 mi) long expressway that includes the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Tunnel.[12] The 35.4 km (22.0 mi) section is further broken into multiple parts:[12] 26.75 km (16.62 mi) - Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, of which 25.9 km (16.1 mi) is over water 5.85 km (3.64 mi) - Qingdao side land bridge 0.9 km (0.56 mi) - Huangdao side land bridge 1.9 km (1.2 mi) - Hongdao Island connection Records Guinness World Records lists the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge at 41.58 km (25.84 mi) making it the longest bridge over water (aggregate length), and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is at 38.44 km (23.89 mi) the longest bridge over water (continuous length) (status July 2011).[3][13] The Guinness title will be challenged by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, currently under construction and scheduled to be opened in 2016 with an aggregate 50.0 km (31.1 mi) of bridges and tunnels. The bridge builder Shandong Gaosu Group claims that Jiaozhou Bay Bridge has the first oversea interchange in the world and that it has the worlds largest number of oversea bored concrete piles.[7][14] History The bridge was the idea of a local official in the Chinese Communist Party who since has been dismissed for corruption.[15] It was designed by the Shandong Gaosu Group. It took four years to build, and employed at least 10,000 people.[6] It opened on 30 June 2011 for traffic.[9] On the same day the bridge opened, the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay tunnel opened.[5][12] It transects Jiaozhou Bay, also connecting Huangdao District and the city of Qingdao, between the narrow mouth of the bay which is 6.17 km (3.83 mi) wide. The tunnel travels underground for 5.55 km (3.45 mi).[16] Concerns regarding the bridges safety were raised when Chinese media reported that the bridge was opened with faulty elements, such as incomplete crash-barriers, missing lighting and loose nuts on guard-rails, with workers stating that it would take two months before finishing all of the projects related to the bridge.[17] Shao Xinpeng, the bridges chief engineer, claimed that in spite of the safety report the bridge was safe and ready for traffic, adding that the problems highlighted in the reports were not major. The bridge was reported by the official state-run television company CCTV to cost CN¥10 billion (US$1.5 billion, GB£900 million). Other sources reported costs as high as CN¥55 billion (US$8.8 billion, GB£5.5 billion).[2] The bridge has few users and has been described as Chinas bridge to nowhere.[15] Built for a projected 30,000 vehicles a day, a year after opening it is only carrying 10,000.[15] See also Portal icon Peoples Republic of China portal Portal icon Bridges portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qingdao Haiwan Bridge. Donghai Bridge Hangzhou Bay Bridge
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 19:42:17 +0000
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