The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is 164.8 kilometers long. The world’s longest bridge.
The bridge was erected in four years, given the difficult terrain, canals, lakes, and other challenges. The bridge cost $8.5 billion, or $51 million per mile.
The structure was built to withstand typhoons, earthquakes of magnitude 8
It is part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in the Jiangsu province of China. This bridge was developed to handle trains on one of China’s leading high-speed railways.
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Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge Facts for Kids
- The bridge cost $8.5 billion to build
- It only took 4 years to build
- Over 10,000 people worked on the construction
- The bridge was built to alleviate local rail traffic.
- It can withstand typhoons and earthquakes of up to magnitude 8
- It connects Shanghai and Nanjing in Jiangsu province.
- The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge traverses the Yangtze River for most of its route.
- A 5.6-mile (9-kilometer) segment of the bridge crosses Yangcheng Lake.
- Travel time from Ningbo to Jiaxing is now only 2 hours!
How tall is the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge?
The bridge is roughly 100 feet high, with a 260-foot span, and is 164.8 km long (nearly 100 miles!).
This is an incredible achievement that has changed the game for the region.
The bridge spans 5.6 miles across Yangcheng Lake, supported by 2000 pillars and steel cables.
Nobody knows how many barges and boats were utilized to deliver materials to the bridge, let alone the machinery needed to drill the 2000 pillar foundations.
Why did they build the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge?
The Danyang Kunshantun Bridge was built in 2006 to connect China’s Jiangsu province with Zhejiang province. This bridge has two lanes for cars and one lane for trains.
It was built to transport trains on one of China’s premier high-speed railways over an incredible distance.
How many cars use Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge a day
At the moment, this is unknown, but it must be in the thousands as it’s an important link between Shanghai and Nanjing.
The Terrain Challenges
Due to the terrain, designers built a viaduct. A viaduct is an interconnected bridge. The shorter spans allow greater flexibility. This well-designed construction ensures long-term stability.
Due to the soft soil of the Yangtze flood plain, the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge needed strengthening. Bridges built on “soft” terrain could collapse without concrete reinforcements!
Who built the Danyang-Kunshan grand bridge?
The project was led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
This is a Chinese government-funded firm that also constructs key roadways, railways, bridges, ports, and tunnel projects in China.
