Pile foundation construction on the Xiaotuo Grand Bridge in the initial section of the Zhuhai-Zhaoqing High-speed Railway in Doumen's Baijiao Town has been completed and pouring of the bridge's first pier began on Sept 21.

The section, constructed by China Railway Sixth Group, contains the Xiaotuo Grand Bridge, Wazilao Tunnel, and roadbed treatment. Work on its main structure began in May and will finish in March 2023. The 394-m (431-yd) Wazilao Tunnel has finished tunneling of 147.8 m (161.6 yds) beneath the mountain and is expected to be drilled through in December. 

Construction site of Xiaotuo Grand Bridge [Photo by Li Jianshu / Guanhai App]

The Zhuhai-Zhaoqing High-speed Railway will be the first one of its kind transiting Zhuhai. It has a designed speed limit of 350 km/h (217 mph) and will be an important part of the westward and northwestward high-speed passenger transportation passages on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary. It will also boost Macao's integration into China's high-speed railway network. 

The 185-km (115-mile) railway starts from Zhuhai's Hezhou area, runs via Jiangmen and Foshan, and ends in Zhaoqing in the midwest of Guangdong Province. It will connect the Guiyang-Guangzhou and Nanning-Guangzhou high-speed railways in the north, offering fast connections between areas on the east and west bank of the Pearl River Estuary and Southwest China. 

It will connect with the Hezhou-Hengqin section of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai (Macao) High-Speed Railway at Zhuhai (Hezhou) Hub Station.

Zhuhai is currently establishing a three-hour transportation circle with other Guangdong cities and major domestic hubs. The city is expected to have 117.8 km (73.2 miles) of railway network by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).