Hangzhou Bay Bridge

Hangzhou Bay Bridge is a long highway bridge with a cable-stayed portion across Hangzhou Bay of eastern China. It connects the municipalities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. At 35.673 km (22 mi) in length, Hangzhou Bay Bridge is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world, but it does not have the longest cable-stayed main span.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge

Carries                                                       6 lanes of expressway

Crosses                                                      Hangzhou Bay

Locale                                                        Jiaxing / Cixi City

Total length                                                35.673 km (22 mi)

Longest span                                              448 m (1,470 ft)

Beginning date of construction                    June 8, 2003

Completion date                                        June 14, 2007

Opening date                                             May 1, 2008

Construction of the bridge was completed on June 14, 2007, and an opening ceremony was held on June 26, 2007 to great domestic media fanfare. But the bridge was not opened to public use until May 1, 2008 after a considerable period of testing and evaluation. The bridge shortened the highway travel distance between Ningbo and Shanghai by 120 km (75 mi) from 400 km (249 mi) and reduced travel time from 4 to 2.5 hours.

Description

Construction of this bridge started on June 8, 2003. The bridge itself is 35.673 kilometres (22 mi) long with six expressway lanes in two directions. The bridge has two main spans, with a 448-metre (1,470 ft) northern span, and a 318-metre (1,043 ft) southern span.

The length of the bridge is decorated with flashing lights of different colors to keep drivers from falling asleep, and to keep their attention on the road. This is also the reason for 'S' shape.