Construction work on the pile foundations for the 350-meter-high north main tower of the Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Yangtze River Bridge was completed on Mazhou Island – located in Jingjiang city in East China's Jiangsu province – on May 10.
An aerial view of the pile foundations for the main north tower of the Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Yangtze River Bridge. [Photo/zhjjwx.jsjjw.cn]
The bridge will span 28 kilometers – making it the world's longest – with its main section across the Yangtze River measuring 2,300 meters in width. It will start from the Shanghai-Xi'an Expressway in Rugao and end at the Zhangjiagang Shugang Expressway.
The contractors said the challenge was designing and installing a solid foundation that such a world record-setting main tower needed. The just-completed tower-bearing platform is set with 97 bored piles, each with a diameter of 2.8 meters and the longest pile has a total length of 103 meters.
Yu Wen, deputy manager of the ZJG-A2 project, said a total of 3,340 metric tons of steel were used for the 97 piles and the concrete pouring capacity was as high as 61,200 cubic meters.
In addition, the project team researched and developed intelligent post-grouting technology to ensure the project quality and 5G technology were applied to help with on-site production.