The world's tallest bridge

The world’s tallest bridge…

… is about to open in China but it’s not in a place you’d expect. Instead of linking parts of a city, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge spans a gorge in one of the country’s most remote, poor areas - and it’s both a feat of engineering and a symbol of China’s economic progress. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll get you across:

• what it took to build such an immense construction

• and what it means for China…

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Give me the big picture - where exactly is the bridge in China?
It’s in the southwestern province of Guizhou, which is one of the more remote provinces. It’s rural but it's also one of the fastest developing areas. And it’s got what geologists call a ‘karst landscape’...

What does that mean?
It’s full of mountains and gorges that have been carved out of limestone by water over millions of years. It looks spectacular, but it also means the rock is full of cracks, caves and underground rivers, which makes building anything there really difficult. That’s held back development - also because it’s been so hard to reach, especially by road… 

Why is that?
The roads in the area are narrow and built into the cliffs, so it takes a long time to drive between places. Landslides are common and when they block the roads, they hold things up even more. 

So, the new bridge will help there…
It sure will… Before the bridge was built, it took more than 2 hours to drive between the communities it links, Guanling and Zhenfeng. When it opens, reports say the journey will be cut to around 2 minutes.

How much did it cost to build?
It’s estimated to have cost around $430 million… And the landscape was a big factor in the price. It’s built over the Huajiang Grand Canyon which is a deep gorge that’s part of the Beipan River, known by locals as ‘Earth’s crack’. The only way they could bridge it is with a suspension bridge with a super-high deck.

How tall is it?
The deck is 625m above the river… To give you an idea of how high it is, you could stack 2 Eiffel Towers on top of each other and still have room underneath it, or 2.5 Statues of Liberty, or nearly 2 London Shards - people have had a lot of fun with this… And it’s not just tall - the entire bridge stretches for more than 2km, so it’s one of the longest in the world too.

What did it take to build it?
So as you might imagine, it’s been a massive effort to get it completed. It’s taken around 3 years and 1,300 workers - and it was definitely not a straightforward build. Just getting the materials to the site was a challenge. The huge steel rods, cables and slabs of concrete had to be hauled up using temporary cableways and lifts across the gorge, and the 2 main suspension pillars had to be drilled deep into the mountainside. 

How did they make sure it withstood the weather?
The region is prone to powerful winds and heavy rain, so the steel they used had to withstand corrosion, and to deal with the wind, they used a lighter arch design which cut the weight by about a third. On top of that, the whole area is seismically active, so the steel towers and cables had to be designed with enough flexibility to handle earthquakes…

No pressure… What about the deck?
The sections were put in place using huge cranes and cable systems that dangled the steel girders over the gorge before laying them in position. And they managed to do that to millimetre precision with the help of China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System which relayed programmed coordinates to the cranes so that they positioned each piece exactly where it needed to be.

How was the bridge tested when it was finished?
Exactly 96 fully loaded trucks were driven onto the deck to test its load bearing, and wind tests and earthquake simulations were also done. The bridge also has a high-tech monitoring system in place which tracks its movement and weather impacts in real time.

So, apart from cutting down travel time between towns, why did they build it?
As soon as it opens, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will link this remote part of Guizhou into the national highway network, connecting it to cities and China's huge manufacturing hubs. For locals, it opens up more access to hospitals, markets and education, and transporting goods between the 2 areas will now take a fraction of the time.  

Is it part of a broader strategy?
Yes… This is the Chinese Government’s strategy of building infrastructure to boost prosperity for poorer, remote communities. And as well as the transport benefits, the new bridge is also expected to draw tourists to the region.

What are the features they’d come for?
There’s a glass footpath on the bridge for pedestrians, and a glass elevator on one side that takes people from a viewing tower all the way down to the river. It’s a view that’s likely to feature prominently on social media. So the idea is that it will attract international as well as domestic tourists - and it’s a symbol of Chinese progress…

Just explain that for me…
As we mentioned, Guizhou was once synonymous in China with poverty. The region is a key part of China’s ‘hinterland strategy’. Its people now have access to 11 airports, freeways and a brand new mega-bridge connecting it to the rest of China, and that sends the message that nowhere in China is too remote to bring along with the right development. It’s a bold investment in their future and a flex to the rest of the world…

How so?
We recently saw China’s military on display for the 80th Anniversary of Japan’s surrender in WWII, and the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is a show of their building know-how. They already boast 8 of the world’s top 10 highest bridges, and adding another just reinforces their reputation as a leader in engineering/construction. But the fast pace of mass development has also led to challenges.

What sort of challenges?
Some regions, like Guizhou, are now carrying large amounts of debt from helping to finance the projects, and reports say there have been accidental deaths on building sites. Last month, Chinese state media reported that 12 workers died when a different bridge under construction collapsed in Qinghai. But China’s development course is set to full steam ahead, and when the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge opens on Sunday, its media will beam images across the world to flag China’s building prowess and its economic progress.  

What’s planned for the opening?
A grand opening ceremony, a demonstration of the glass tourist attractions, and a triathlon - racers will get their huffy puffy on by swimming across the river, cycling over the bridge and running the surrounding trails…

Well, the view will be good…
That’s one certainty… Some analysts have described China’s infrastructure plan as building ‘bridges to nowhere’, but only time will tell if the long-term economic benefits outweigh the huge costs involved in building them.

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Onto our Recommendations

Watching: This YouTube video by The Impossible Build about the bridge’s construction. It’s got great footage and really gives you a sense of its scale.

Browsing: And for the bridge fans, here’s a collection of other famously tall and long bridges in the world compiled by the BBC for a bit of comparison/general bridge appreciation.

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