Now that the typhoon season has ended, steel box girders are being lifted into place on the Jinhai Avenue Bridge leading from lower Hengqin Island toward Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport.

By next May, all 39 prefabricated steel box girders will connect the four steel towers already crossing the mouth of the Modaomen Waterway of the Xijiang River. The third of three hoists has been attached to towers on the Hengqin side of what will be the world's first and widest multi-tower cable-stayed bridge with both a highway and railway on the same platform. The bridge is a vital part of Airport Urban Rail Transit Phase II.

Bridge tower hoist prepares to lift steel box girder [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

The first tower crane installed a steel box girder in September and, on Nov 9, the second 684-ton girder was hoisted onto Pier 27. The other two hoists were put in place recently, each capable of lifting up to 750 metric tons.

The 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. Overall, the project comprises east and west approach bridges, a main structure across the Modaomen Waterway; and Hezhou Island, Baiteng River, and Sanzao sections. The entire structure comprises the Modaomen Highway-Railway Grand Bridge, Hezhou and Baiteng River bridges, and Zizhu Bay Interchange.

A double-track railway with a designated speed of 160 kmph (99.5 mph) will be in the middle of the bridge with three traffic lanes on each side with a designated speed of 100 kmph (62 mph). Once operational, travel time between Hengqin and Jinwan will be reduced to 10-15 minutes and from Gongbei to Zhuhai Airport from 40 to 25 minutes.