After over an hour of airborne turning operations on Nov 14, two super-large bridges of the Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed Railway successfully executed simultaneous rotations, seamlessly traversing the Shanghai-Kunming Railway.
This is a significant breakthrough in the construction of this high-speed railway bridge. The railway is the first high-speed railway in Yunnan designed for a speed of 350 kilometers per hour to pass over with an existing railway—a rarity in the history of domestic railway construction.
The two large bridges are located in Songming county, Kunming, Yunnan province. China Railway Fourth Bureau is responsible for the construction of the Beijiavillage Super Large Bridge, which spans 5,141 meters over the Shanghai-Kunming Railway. The continuous beams that underwent rotation in this operation were centered on bridge piers 22 and 23. Bridge pier 22's main beam is 126 meters long, weighing 11,000 tons, and rotated clockwise by 37.45°. Bridge pier 23's main beam is also 126 meters long, weighing 10,000 tons, and rotated counterclockwise by 29.71°.
China Railway 16th Bureau Group is responsible for the construction of the Alitang Super Large Bridge, which spans 1,421 meters and has a total of 40 piers. In this turning operation, the beams centered on bridge piers 34 and 35 each rotated 62 meters in length, weighing over 4,900 tons. The two sections of the beams rotated by 38.89° each. Ultimately, the precise connection of the two super-large bridges over the Shanghai-Kunming Railway was achieved.
