Xianghuoyan Bridge
Xianghuoyan Bridge
香火岩特大桥
Hefengxiang, Guizhou, China
(575) feet high / (175) meters high
984 foot span / 300 meter span
2017
Xianghuoyan Bridge is the only arch bridge on the the newer 6-lane Guizun expressway that parallels the older G75 expressway from Guiyang city to Zunyi city in central Guizhou Province. The beautiful red span leaps across the remote Xianghuoyan Scenic Area that is accessible to hikers looking for an afternoon of waterfalls, cliffwalks and caves.
Like many of China's deep gorge crossings, the main ribs of Xianghuoyan Bridge are of a CFST concrete filled steel tubular design. Once the arch was closed, concrete was pumped into these tubes from the bottom up. First used by the Chinese in 1990, they have refined and improved the technique and now use it on the majority of their steel arch bridges. Depending on the length of the span and the width of the bridge, different styles of tubing are used. For Xianghuoyan, they adopted an array of single tubes spaced apart from each other. Other configurations include dumbbells with two tubes closely connected, a mix of a dumbbell and single tubes such as was done on the Beipanjiang River Railway bridge or a tight cluster of tubes known as “multiple contiguous”. Once hardened, the concrete solidifies and stiffens the arch, improving the compressive strength of the entire structure.
The main span of the Xianghuoyan Bridge is 300 meters with a span to rise ratio of 5.5 to 1. The 6-lane deck is 33.5 meters wide.
Workers could access both sides of the canyona via the Xianghuoyan Footbridge, a simple 260 meter long suspension span with a mesh lined walkway that hung 105 meters above the creek.
Click on the excellent YouTube channel "Chinese Bridge" to see a video of the Xianghuoyan Bridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqXqTslQrhU
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Ben Usagani.
Image by Ben Usagani.
Image by John Brignoli.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Ben Usagani.
Image by Ben Usagani.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Xianghuoyan Bridge west foundation area. 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
Xianghuoyan Bridge east foundation area. 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
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
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
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Cliffwalks within Xianghuoyan Scenic area. 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
Xianghuoyan Bridge west side approach piers. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Each of the 14 approach spans on the west side is 30 meters in length. Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Xianghuoyan Bridge steel truss ribs await placement.
Xianghuoyan Bridge satellite image.
Xianghuoyan Bridge location map.
