Recently, the world’s largest-span flexible arch steel girder bridge—the Nansha Port Railway Cross Hongqili River Mega Bridge, constructed by China Railway Sixth Group ?and co-built by China Railway Hi-Tech Industry, won the prestigious Theodore Cooper Award at the International Bridge Conference (IBC).
The Hongqili River Mega Bridge is located downstream of the confluence of the Xiahengli and Hongqili waterways in the Pearl River Delta. It was built to first-class railway standards with a designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The main bridge is 998 meters long and features an innovative structure of dual 360-meter-span flexible arch steel trusses, effectively adapting to the area’s complex navigation routes and W-shaped riverbed.
The bridge uses a special integrated longitudinal girder splicing structure. Faced with challenges such as large cross-sections of structural members, thick steel plates, numerous full-penetration welds, and positive thickness tolerance, builders from China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group?rose to the occasion. They achieved near-exacting control over spacing between node plates, component dimensions, and bolt-hole precision, resulting in a flawless fit.
On December 31, 2021, the Hongqili River Mega Bridge was officially opened to traffic along with the Nansha Port Railway, enabling cargo from Nansha Port to reach Europe directly via sea-rail intermodal transport.
The Theodore Cooper Award is one of the seven major awards of the International Bridge Conference. It recognizes outstanding achievements in innovative design of new railway bridges, rehabilitation of existing railway bridges, or rapid construction techniques in railway bridge projects.
