Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang
Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang
北盘江岩架大
Xingbeizhen, Guizhou, China
295 feet high / 90 meters high
459 foot span / 140 meter span
2010
The concrete Beipanjiang Huajiang arch bridge was completed in 2009 as a bypass to the older 2-lane Huajiang stone bridge that was too low in height to still function within the deep reservoir that was completed in 2009 from a downstream dam. The gorge setting motivated the engineers to build the main arch rib as two large halves on scaffolding high along the edge of the cliffs. With the arch springing built upon a rotating foundation they swung both halves out over the gorge in one day and connected them at the crown. This rotation construction method is rarely used anymore outside China and allows the builders to avoid expensive high lines and cable stays to hold the arch pieces in place.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The suspension bridge can just barely be seen from the new concrete arch crossing. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The two arch halves are held back by cables that pass through the concrete pier and down to the base.
The massive concrete piers are slowly rotated using an old fashioned pulley system.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
The older road to Huajiang crossed the Beipanjiang River on this stone arch bridge from 1961. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang satellite image.
Beipanjiang Bridge Huajiang location map.