The Changtai Yangtze River Bridge, the World’s Longest-Span Cable-Stayed Bridge, Officially Opens to Traffic

On September 9, the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge—the world’s longest-span cable-stayed bridge—officially opened to traffic. The bridge holds great significance in improving the regional road network and promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the integration of the Yangtze River Delta.

The Changtai Yangtze River Bridge officially opens to traffic

Photo by CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Company

The river-crossing section of the bridge has a total length of 10.03 kilometers, with the combined road-rail section spanning 5.3 kilometers. It consists of a steel truss cable-stayed bridge with a 1,208-meter main span over the primary navigation channel, two steel truss arch bridges each with a 388-meter span over dedicated navigation channels, and a steel truss girder bridge with three 124-meter spans over non-navigable sections. The project has set new world records for the longest-span cable-stayed bridge and the longest-span road-rail combined steel truss arch bridge.

The bridge features a double-deck design for both road and rail traffic

Photo by CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Company

According to Zhong Aixiu, project director of the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge for CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Company, the project team overcame several technical challenges. These included the construction of massive underwater stepped caisson foundations for a kilometer-plus road-rail combined cable-stayed bridge with an asymmetric load distribution; the hoisting of large, asymmetric steel truss girder segments; and the installation of exceptionally long and heavy stay cables. The team developed an intelligent decision-making system for caisson construction and an intelligent cluster control system for air-lift excavation, setting a new record for the fastest sinking of a large caisson in a silty clay layer. They also independently developed the world’s largest-capacity bridge deck crane, which enabled the millimeter-level precision alignment of exceptionally heavy girder segments.

Residents from both cities drove across the new bridge

Photo by CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Company

Following the bridge’s opening, travel time between Changzhou and Taizhou will be reduced from 1 hour and 20 minutes to approximately 20 minutes. The two cities will also introduce a joint intercity bus service to improve public transit. This will serve as a catalyst for the coordinated and integrated development of the cross-river urban cluster.