The Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge is a bridge under construction. It will connect two major cities on the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...

(PRD) in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

: the city of

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

on the eastern side of the PRD, and the city of

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 i ...

on the western side. It will consist of a series of bridges and tunnels, starting from Bao'an International Airport on the Shenzhen side. The proposed 51 km eight-lane link is scheduled to be completed in 2024 and is expected to cost around US$4.83 billion.

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

"A Hong Kong Tale of 2 Bridges"
2 May 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013. It will be located about 27 km downriver from the

Humen Bridge The Humen Pearl River Bridge () is a bridge over the Humen, Pearl River in Guangdong Province, southern China. It consists of two main spans - a suspension bridge section and a segmental concrete section. It connects the Nansha District of Guang ...

, the only current bridge crossing of the estuary, and some 32 km north of the new

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixe ...

, which links the cities of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...

, and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

at the southern end of the PRD. Construction started in May 2017 with an opening date in 2024.

History

Shenzhen lobbied hard in the early 2000s to be included in the

project through a proposed double-Y-shaped design with one of the extensions connecting Shenzhen to the structure, but the

Government of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an Authoritarianism, authoritarian political system in the China, People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of Leg ...

picked a single-Y-shaped design in 2004, leaving Shenzhen out of the project. The idea of a separate link to connect Shenzhen with Zhongshan was originally proposed in 2008, but was shelved for several years amid concerns it could jeopardize the success of a bridge between Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau. It was eventually included in the Guangdong government's 12th five-year plan, unveiled by

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

governor

Huang Huahua Huang Huahua (born October 1946 in Xingning, Guangdong) is a retired Chinese politician, and the Governor of Guangdong between 2003 and 2011. Of Hakka heritage, he was once the mayor of Meizhou. Biography Huang was born in Xingning County, ...

on 9 January 2011. The project will consist of a 6.7 km tunnel starting on the Shenzhen side, and 19 bridges totaling 43 km. There will be four lanes in each direction, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The bridge will join the Guangshen Expressway to the south of

Shenzhen airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport) is the airport serving Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It is located on the east bank of the Pearl River near Huangtian and Fuyong villages in Bao'an District, and is ...

and the Jihe Expressway to the east of the airport on the eastern side of the delta with the Zhongjiang Expressway on the western side. It will cut travel time from Shenzhen to Zhongshan to less than 30 minutes. Analysts from

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

and Hong Kong found the project might draw as much as 40 percent of the potential traffic away from the

and reduce the regional dominance of Hong Kong's airport and harbor.

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

"Link spanning Pearl River Delta from Shenzhen to Zhongshan approved"
8 November 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge Transport in Guangdong Pearl River Delta Proposed bridges in China Bridges over the Pearl River (China) Expressways in Shenzhen

History

See also

References