A crane vessel with the largest hoisting capability in China arrived Jan 15 at the construction site of the Jinhai Avenue Bridge to install eight steel truss girders and four main towers over the next three months.

Spanning 1,369 m (1,497 yd), the main bridge structure has 27 piers and 52,000 tons of steel girders and towers scheduled for hoisting by the Da Qiao Hai Ou (Bridge Seagull). Each steel truss girder weighs 2,500 tons and each main tower 3,000 tons.

In addition, the main tower is to rise 108 m (354 ft) above the girders, which are 45 m (148 ft) above water. The Bridge Seagull is the only crane in the country capable of handling such a workload, according to Wang Yawei, deputy chief engineer of the project.

The Da Qiao Hai Ou (Bridge Seagull) [Photo by Zeng Yao / Guanhai App]

The vessel is 118.9 m (390 ft) long, 48 m (157 ft) wide and has a draft of 4.8 m (16 ft). The built-in floating crane has four main hooks together capable of lifting 3,600 tons to 110 m (361 ft), and two auxiliary hooks together capable of lifting 600 tons to 130 m (427 ft). Both lifting capacity and hosting height rank first among domestic vessels of the same type.

The 1,200-ton auxiliary hoisting facilities have begun operation. The Steel Girders 0 and steel tower of Pier 26 and steel Girder 0 of Pier 27 will be transported from Jiangmen and Qidong of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province to Zhuhai, with installation beginning in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, major work on the east approach bridge was completed Jan 16 when the steel tube arch above West Huandao Road in Hengqin New Area was hoisted into place and connected end-to-end.

The first highway-railway structure in the Pearl River estuary, the Jinhai Avenue Bridge is 11.2 km (7 miles) long from the Jingwan Tunnel on southern Hengqin Island to the Sanzao Tunnel beneath East Airport Road (S727) in Jinwan District. The designated speed is 100 kmph (62 mph) for the dual six-lane highway and 160 kmph (99.5 mph) for the center double-track railway.

The bridge comprises east and west approach bridges, a main structure across the Modaomen Waterway, and Hezhou Island, Baiteng River, and Sanzao sections. It will form part of the Airport Urban Rail Transit Phase II and cut travel time between Jinwan and Hengqin to 10-15 minutes. Motorists will be able to reach Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport from Gongbei in 25 minutes.