China’s reputation for delivering massive construction projects on time has been further solidified with the closure of the final span of the Nanjing Number 5 Yangtze River Bridge, as promised, by the end of this month.
The closure, that came a little after midnight on the morning of 28 June, literally paves the way for the bridge to be opened to traffic, on schedule, before year end, despite the ravages brought on by Covid.
The closure was also witnessed by Lou Qinjian, Party Secretary of Jiangsu Province, and Wu Zhenglong, Governor of Jiangsu Province, reports national news outlet, The Paper.
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Construction now enters its final stages, including the asphalt road surface, overhead lighting, anti-collision guardrails, acoustic barriers and other ancillary facilities.
As with its three predecessors, Number 5 Bridge will comprise three lanes, running in each direction. Best news of all, however, is that unlike the other three, Number 5 Bridge will be toll free, giving it something in common with Nanjing’s first bridge across the Yangtze, the famous Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge which was opened in 1968.
Also worthy of note is the fact that the new bridge is the world’s first long-span bridge with a steel-concrete composite structure.
A year-end completion will also come as good news to those drivers living or working nearby whose lives as commuters have been made almost unbearable the past few years.
Nanjing’s ring road around the Fengtai Nan Lu exit has been gridlock for a number of years; the prospect of the new bridge has afforded authorities the opportunity to completely realign the road.
Then there are the endless rush hour queues for the nearby Nanjing Changjiang River Tunnel, which shall be largely remedied by the opening of the new bridge.
Plans for the bridge, drawn up in 2008 and originally calling for a double-deck design, were later scrapped. Today has also brought another change. In line with Nanjing’s other Yangtze River crossings, the Number 5 Bridge is to be renamed, with the most likely contender, at time of writing, being “Nanjing Jiangxinzhou Yangtze River Bridge”.
