The Sutong Yangtze Bridge (; , ) is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

that spans the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

in China between

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vit ...

and

Changshu Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yan ...

, a satellite city of

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

, in

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

province.

Design and construction

The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was designed by Dr. Robin Sham, CBE, FICE, a Hong Kong-born and British-based structural engineer who specializes in bridges. With a span of , it was the cable-stayed bridge with the longest main span in the world from 2008 to 2012. Its two side spans are each, and there are also four small cable spans. The bridge received the 2010 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award (OCEA) from the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. Two towers of the bridge are high and thus the fifth tallest in the world. The total bridge length is . Construction began in June 2003, and the bridge was linked up in June 2007. The bridge was opened to traffic on 25 May 2008 and was officially opened on 30 June 2008. Construction has been estimated to cost about US$1.7 billion. The completion of the bridge shortens the commute between Shanghai and Nantong, previously a four-hour ferry ride, to about an hour. It brings Nantong one step closer to becoming an important part of the

Yangtze Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangna ...

economic zone, and has further attracted foreign investors into the city. The bridge is also pivotal in the development of poorer northern Jiangsu regions. The tower is an inverted Y-shaped reinforced concrete structure with one connecting girder between tower legs. The bridge deck is a steel box girder with internal transverse and longitudinal diaphragms and fairing noses at both sides of the bridge deck. The total width of the bridge deck is 41 metres including the fairing noses. The construction of Zhaodian-Huangdu Section of Nantong-Shanghai Railway was commenced in March 2014. Following the completion of subgrade, bridges, mainline track-laying, and “communication, signal, power and electrification” works, the integrated commissioning & test began on 20 April 2020

Gallery

Image:Sutong Bridge-2.jpg, Sutong Yangtze River Bridge Image:On the Sutong Bridge 2.jpg, Road surface on the bridge. Image:Sutong South Bridge.JPG, South bridge Image: Sutong Bridge under Construction (main structure finished), China.jpg, Bridge under construction in 2007.

References

External links

AECOM TransportationOfficial website
Retrieved 2009-12-11.
Roadtraffic Technologyvirtualreview.org
{{Supertall Road bridges in China Bridges over the Yangtze River Cable-stayed bridges in China Bridges completed in 2008 Bridges in Jiangsu Bridges in Suzhou

Design and construction

Gallery

See also

References

External links