The first and second steel towers of Jinhai Avenue Bridge spanning the mouth of the Modaomen Waterway will be connected by March, as the first of the five steel box girders was lifted onto Pier 27 on Feb 7, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year.

Constructor China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group applied two hoists to synchronously lift the 680-metric-ton steel box girder, which is 24 m (26 yd) in length and 50.2 m (55 yd) in width.

Hoisting of the steel box girders [Photo by Li Jianshu and Meng Qinghu / Zhuhai Daily]

Hoisting of the bridge's 39 steel box girders started in November 2021 to connect all four towers by mid-2022. So far, 10 steel box girders have been lifted into place. The main structure will be finished this year to meet up with the requirements of normal traffic operation.

As a vital part of the Airport Urban Rail Transit Phase II, the bridge stretches 11.2 km (7 miles) from the Jingwan Tunnel on southern Hengqin Island to the Sanzao Tunnel beneath East Airport Road (S727) in Jinwan District. 

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 includes the Modaomen Highway-Railway Grand Bridge, Hezhou and Baiteng River bridges, and Zizhu Bay Interchange.

Concrete pouring for a continuous rigid frame beam of the bridge's Hezhou section is also underway. Over 200 migrant workers from the project stayed in Zhuhai during the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 31 to Feb 6 to catch up with the schedule.