World’s tallest bridge opens in China's Guizhou province, cuts travel time from 2 hours to 2 minutes
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "World’s tallest bridge opens in China's Guizhou province, cuts travel time from 2 hours to 2 minutes")
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the world’s highest in China’s southwest Guizhou province. Photograph: (AFP)
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge took over three years to complete. It features a main span of 1,420 metres, making it the largest-span bridge ever built in a mountainous area.
China has inaugurated the world's highest bridge, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, after three years of construction, state media reported on Sunday. The structure rises 625 metres (2051 feet) above a river and gorge in Guizhou province, overtaking the nearby Beipanjiang Bridge, which now ranks as the second highest at 565 metres, according to a report in news agency AFP.
State television broadcast live drone footage showing vehicles crossing the towering span, with its blue pylons partly shrouded in clouds. A crowd of spectators, including engineers and local officials, gathered on-site for the opening ceremony, many expressing pride and excitement in live interviews.
"The opening of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge reduces travel time between the two sides from two hours to two minutes," Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transport department, said on Wednesday.
China's investment in major infrastructure projects
She added that this bridge makes enormous improvements to regional transportation conditions and (injects) new impetus into regional economic and social development. In recent decades, China has invested heavily in major infrastructure projects, marking a period of rapid economic growth and urbanisation in the country.
The hilly province of Guizhou, already home to thousands of bridges, now boasts the world's two highest, according to state news agency Xinhua. It reported on Wednesday that nearly half of the world's 100 tallest bridges are located in the region.
Xinhua confirmed that the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge took over three years to complete. It features a main span of 1,420 metres, making it the largest-span bridge ever built in a mountainous area. While it holds the record for height above ground, the title of the world’s tallest bridge structure still belongs to France’s Millau Viaduct, which stands 343 metres tall.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
