Builders from China Railway No.4 Engineering Group Co., Ltd (CREC4), who are building the water diversion project between the Yangtze and the Huaihe rivers, have finished assembling the steel cross strut for a main tower on Qinglong (Blue Dragon) River Bridge.
The assembling of the steel cross strut for the main tower on Qinglong River Bridge in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, was completed on July 22, marking another milestone in building the water diversion project between the Yangtze, which traverses through southern Anhui for some 400 kilometers, and the Huaihe River, which runs through northern Anhui.
The total length of the Qinglong River Bridge project is 1250 meters, among which the bridge itself is 814 meters long. The construction mainly includes the demolition of the old bridge as well as building the new Qinglong Bridge and its connecting lines. The main bridge is a double-tower cable-stayed bridge, while the main tower is 72 meters high. On the main tower, the steel cross strut is designed with a steel structure shaped like “hovering of a blue dragon” and is difficult task to finish.
The steel cross strut weighs 46 metric tons and has a hoisting height of 55 meters. A 460-ton crane is used to hoist it into position with one lift. As it involves complex working conditions such as large-tonnage hoisting, aerial work and work-on-the-water, there is an extremely-high safety risk. In order to ensure the hoisting safety, the project team launched detailed meetings and discussions, optimized the construction plan through demonstrations, thus safeguarding the successful completion of the hoisting task.
The water diversion project between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers aims to better urban and rural water supply in Anhui and neighboring Henan province, and boost shipping between the two rivers.
Starting its construction on Dec 29, 2016 with a designed construction period of six years, the water diversion project costs some 91.27 billion yuan.
From south to north, the project is divided into three sections: water diversion from the Yangtze to Chaohu Lake in central Anhui, canal link and northward water transmission. The total water transmission line runs for 723 kilometers.
It has been learned that upon the completion of Qinglong Bridge, it will effectively relieve the traffic flow between Hefei’s main urban area and its suburban Feixi County, and shorten the spacial distance between Feixi and the city center, thus enhancing local residents’ well-being.