World Tourism / The Longest Bridges of the World / The Hangzhou Bridge
The Hangzhou Bridge
There is an opinion that China can not produce good products and build reliable structure. But the construction of the Olympic buildings in Beijing, as well as other mega buildings in China, have proved the opposite. The creation of the Hangzhou Bridge also breaks our prejudices. Thus, the longest bridge in the world built in the form of the letter S, is a very important section of highway on the east coast of China. The bridge starts in the north, in Dzhiaksine, and ends in Ningbo in the southern part of China.
History
The construction of the Hangzhou Bridge started in Hangzhou in 2003 and ended in 2009. The project of the longest bridge in the world cost 1.42 billion U.S. dollars. The primary purpose of the investors was to improve the access to the Port of Ningbo at Beilun. The chief engineer of the bridge is Wang Yong. He said that this bridge is a crucial bridge, not only in China but also in the world. The Hangzhou Bridge is not only the longest in the world (by sea), but it has been built in some severe environments: there often arise typhoons, the bottom of the sea is not uniform, there is a danger of gas emissions. Many Chinese scholars carried out special investigations and any natural phenomena that could damage the bridge have been reduced to zero.
The Construction Process
The design of the cable-stayed bridge has been selected to withstand the harsh environment. Also, the bridge was designed taking into account the seismic characteristics of the region. Moreover, it is designed to preserve the integrity of the bridge during an earthquake up to 7 points on the Richter scale. The total length of cable involved in the construction amounted 32.2 km. Almost all of the nodes of the future bridge were made on the ground, and then transported to be installed. They used some giant floating cranes to set the span.
Location map
The bridge crossing Hangzhou Bay and the River Qiantang is the longest bridge in the world (by sea), the length of the bridge is 36 km. The longest bridge in the world is, in addition to its length, one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. The construction of the bridge of Hangzhou, reduced the distance from Shanghai to Ningbo to 120 km, and the time was reduced from 4 to 2 hours. The speed limit on the highway is100 km / h, the road has three lanes in each direction. 50 thousand vehicles drive on the bridge every day.
Land between the Sea and the Sky
In the middle of the bridge of Hangzhou, a recreation centre was built. Its name is Land between the Sea and the Sky.You can get a full range of services, including restaurants and hotels , a resting area, a gas station, a hotel, a conference room, and a lookout tower. This centre was slightly damaged in March,2010. In some months it has been opened to the tourists. This bridge represents a symbol of how people fight the natural phenomena and they win the battle. I highly advise you to visit China and stare at that mankind’s deed and you will understand that people deserve the qualification of the most superior being.
Interesting Facts
• The toll fee is 80 yuan per vehicle. As the bridge has six lanes in both directions, you will have a smooth ride • 600 experts spent nine years on the design of The Hangzhou Bridge.
• The opening ceremony was held on the 26th of June, but it was opened to the public one year later.
Others The Longest Bridges of the World .
Others from The Longest Bridges of the World
It is a door to something new….
.
to something refreshing.
This is the place that gives birth to love and continuity to any relationship.
Different cultures have different traditions linked to bridges.
The Russians consider that the newlyweds should walk along a bridge as a symbol of a new period in life.
Chinese bring their children when they go the first time to the kindergarten believing that they will become honest, courageous, and always high-spirited.
The concept of the Bridge The bridge represents an artificial structure, erected over a river, lake, spilling water or any other obstacle.
It is generally built across the road or a river.
In many cases it joins two borders.
The bridge is one of the oldest engineering inventions of mankind.
The Structure of The Bridge Typically, bridges are made up of spans and supports.
Spans are used to transfer loads and the perception of their supports, they can settle the roadway, pedestrian crossing, the pipeline.
Spans are composed of supporting structures: beams, trusses, diaphragms (cross-ties) and the actual roadway slabs.
The spans are usually straightforward, but if it is necessary they are given a complex shape: spiral, ring, etc.
Forms of supports can be quite diverse.
Intermediate supports are called bulls, coastal - foundations.
Foundations are used to connect the bridge with the approach embankments.
Materials for bridges are metal (steel and aluminum alloys), natural stone, wood and rope.
Types of Bridges All the bridges can be divided from two points of view: By Application: Rail bridge Automotive bridge Metro bridge Hiking bridge Combined bridge By construction: the beam, the spacer , the combined.
Dozen of huge bridges connect different cities and countries.
Hundreds of people drive along them and do not even notice their beautiful architecture.
When we speak about the place where the greatest number of the longest bridges are situated you are going to be surprised to learn that the winner is China.
Still the longest bridge is Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge(1.
991 m) situated in Japan.
The design of the bridge is double-hinged beam system stiffness to withstand wind speeds up to 80 m / s, the seismic activity of up to 8.
5 on the Richter scale and withstand strong sea currents.
The second longest bridge is Xihoumen bridge in China (1.
650 m).
The cost of the expenses has raised to 2.
48 billion yen (approximately U.
S.
$ 300 million).
The third longest can be found in Denmark and is the Great Belt Bridge (1.
624 m).
Still the most reliable Bridge is to be found in China once again.
This is Tsing Ma Bridge(1.
377 m).
They say that it will be safe even when there are typhoons.
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