| Xihoumen Bridge 西堠門大橋 |
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| Xihoumen Bridge (Feb 2008) | |
| Crosses | Hangzhou Bay |
| Locale | Jintang Island and Cezi Island, Zhejiang province |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Height | 211 m |
| Longest span | 1,650 meters (5,413 ft) |
| Opened | 16 December 2007 |
The Xihoumen Bridge is a suspension bridge built on the Zhoushan Archipelago, the largest offshore island group in China. The main span was completed in December 2007. [1] The entire bridge is scheduled for completion in October 2009. [2] It is the second-longest suspension bridge ranked by the length of the center span.
The 5.3-kilometer-long suspension bridge has a 2.6-kilometer-long main bridge with a central span of 1,650 meters. The approaches total 2.7 kilometers. When it opened, there was only one bridge with a larger span, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan. However, there are several other bridges planned or under construction that will also be larger.
The bridge was built by the province of Zhejiang, at a cost of 2.48 billion yuan (approximately US$363 million). Construction began in 2005, and the first traffic crossed the bridge on 16 December 2007, at 11:18 a.m., local time.
The Xihoumen Bridge links Jintang and Cezi islands. Another planned bridge, the 27-kilometer-long Jintang Bridge, will link Jintang Island and Zhenhai of Ningbo. The two bridges are the second phase of a huge project started in 1999 to link the Zhoushan Archipelago to the mainland with five bridges. Construction of the other three bridges has been completed.
Notes
- ^ "World's Longest Suspension Bridge with Steel Box Beams Opens to Traffic". The People's Government of Zhejiang Province. 2007-12-18. http://www.zhejiang.gov.cn/zjforeign/english/node491/userobject1ai13685.html. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ "IABSE Workshop 2009 with Chinese Bridge Tour - Recent Major Bridges]". http://www.iabse.ethz.ch/conferences/pdf/FI_Workshop_ChineseBridgeTour.pdf.
External links
- Xihoumen Suspension Bridge in the Structurae database
- Xihoumen bridge images and location at Google Earth
- "ZJ to build ld's 2nd longest suspension bridge". Zhejiang Online. March 4, 2005. http://english.zjol.com.cn/05english/system/2005/03/04/004363639.shtml.
- diagrams and artist's depiction
- official announcement in People's Daily
Coordinates: 30°03′42.00″N 121°54′22.90″E / 30.06167°N 121.906361°E
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