Reconstructed Wusong River Bridge finishes key milestone
The eastern deck of the new Wusong River Bridge finishes its main structure on Thursday.
A key part of a reconstruction project on the Wusong River Bridge was completed in suburban Qingpu District on Thursday, which will improve the connections between Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu Province.
The eastern deck of the new bridge finished its main structure after more than a year of demolition and reconstruction without disrupting the busy traffic over the river, known as the upstream of Suzhou Creek, according to the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co Road and Bridge Group, the city's major road and bridge constructor.
The cross-river bridge is part of the G1503 beltway around the city in Qingpu, which connects Anhe Road in Qingpu and Huaqiao in Kunshan, Jiangsu.
The old bridge was built in 2004 as a major channel between Shanghai and Jiangsu. More than 4,400 vehicles drive through the bridge per hour during rush hours, numbers the old bridge is hardly able to handle. Only vessels lighter than 300 tons can sail beneath the 5-meter-tall old bridge, restricting water transport along the river.
The last part of the new Wusong River Bridge is assembled on Thursday morning.
Demolition began in May last year with half of the bridge deck remaining open to traffic. Ships were also allowed to sail during the project.
The new bridge, said to be the longest and widest steel box girder bridge in Shanghai, spans 1,573 meters over the river. It will open fully by June 2022. The western part of the new bridge initially opened in June.
The 125-kilometer Wusong River originates in Taihu Lake in Jiangsu and winds through the cities of Suzhou, Kunshan and Shanghai before finally emptying into the Huangpu River. The downtown section of the river is known as Suzhou Creek.
The project is part of the waterway treatment campaign approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, to improve flood prevention, the ecological environment and transport capacity of the Taihu Lake Stream.
The campaign has been listed as a key interprovincial water project for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
