Lateral work begins on Honghe east-west structures

It was a significant moment in the joining of Zhuhai's two wings when the first long box girder was placed on May 9 between stanchions of the Honghe Bridge. After a tower crane lowered the girder, work on the 9.6-km (6-mile) project began to shift until next year from substructure to superstructure, after which will follow decking.

Costing 4 billion yuan ($630.1 million), the main body consists of two 500-m (1,600-ft) double-pylon double-plane cable-stayed bridges over the Hongwan and Modaomen waterways.

Box girder lowered into place [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Communication Group]

Located south of Zhuhai Avenue, the project begins at Hongwan Interchange in Xiangzhou District's Nanping Town. It then diverges into the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Link Line and crosses the Guangzhou-Macao Expressway and Second Hengqin Bridge. Moving westward, it passes over the Hongwan Waterway, Mangzhou Wetland on Hengqin Island, and Modaomen Waterway in South Hezhou Reclamation Area. It finally meets the Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway extension line and Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway via South Hezhou Interchange.

When completed in 2020, the bridge will propel the regional economic development of western Zhuhai. The dual six-lane structure will allow a speed of 100 kmph (62 mph).

Aside from further connecting Zhuhai's two wings, it will be a key passage linking western Guangdong Province with Hong Kong and Zhuhai, while also enlarging the HZM's influence over the area.