At 11:28 on December 25, as the roar of drilling rigs echoed across the No. 84 offshore construction platform in Hangzhou Bay, the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Bridge project officially began bored pile construction for the central navigation channel bridge, marking another breakthrough in the construction of what is currently the world's longest high-speed railway sea-crossing bridge under construction. This stands as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the bureau's founding and a welcome to the Party Congress and Workers' Congress.

On the morning of that day, the first-pile drilling ceremony for the central navigation channel bridge of the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway Hangzhou Bay Bridge was held on the No. 84 offshore construction platform.

Xiao Shibo, Deputy General Manager of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, delivered a welcome address. He stated that over the past year, the bridge command headquarters of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Company had provided valuable support to the bridge bureau in many aspects including funding assistance, technical solutions, and on-site supervision; the three levels of local government and relevant departments in Haiyan County, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, had repeatedly helped coordinate and resolve practical difficulties, creating a favorable construction environment for the project—this is the fundamental guarantee for the progress achieved so far. Since entering the site and commencing work on November 30 last year, the Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Bridge project department of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, despite tight schedules, heavy tasks, and harsh climatic and hydrological conditions, has overcome difficulties, consistently adhered to high standards and strict requirements, organized work scientifically, and completed all construction tasks. As 2023 draws to a close, the first-pile drilling of the central navigation channel bridge is not only the best interpretation of this year's bridge construction but also marks the beginning of the even more intensive subsequent construction of the north and central navigation channel bridges in the bureau's contract section.

Xiao Shibo stated that no matter how harsh the subsequent construction conditions or how complex the environment, the project department of the bridge bureau will, in accordance with the management and control requirements of all parties, devote full effort, press forward without letup, keep a firm eye on project goals without relaxation, adhere to scientific organization without slackening, and maintain strict construction management without negligence, ensuring that all construction tasks are completed on schedule, safely, and with high quality, delivering a satisfactory result to the people of Jiaxing City and Haiyan County and making greater contributions to the transportation cause of Zhejiang Province.

At the drilling ceremony, Li Chao, Member of the Standing Committee of the Haiyan County Party Committee and Executive Deputy County Mayor, expressed his personal reflections with three words: congratulations, gratitude, and hope. He said, "In the earlier stage, through full communication and cooperation, we achieved the commencement of the project and the smooth progress of offshore drilling. We must not only see the bright prospects of close cooperation between both sides but also rationally analyze the difficulties and problems that will be encountered during the advancement of the work, and establish and improve a more sound interaction mechanism." He stated that the Haiyan County government and all departments will make every effort to provide the most complete safeguards, the highest quality services, and the most comprehensive support for project implementation, and expressed the hope that all parties will cooperate sincerely and work hand in hand to promote the early completion and operation of the project.

Luo Yonglian, Deputy Commander of the Jiaxing Railway and Rail Transit Construction Command and Deputy Director of the Jiaxing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, announced the commencement of first-pile drilling for the central navigation channel bridge.

Jiang Benjun, Project Manager of the Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Railway Bridge project of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, introduced that Hangzhou Bay is a typical "funnel-shaped bay," characterized by large tidal ranges (maximum tidal range of 8.69 meters), strong scouring, and rapid flow velocities (maximum velocity of 5.3 meters per second), with a relatively thick and soft silt layer at the bay bottom. The project's foundation construction is highly difficult, with high ecological and environmental protection requirements and high operational safety risks.

To ensure the smooth progress of pile foundation construction for the central navigation channel bridge, the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line Company organized the project department of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group to establish a dedicated scientific research team to tackle eight research topics, including offshore construction safety risk monitoring technology, large vessel typhoon avoidance technology, and digital twin-based alignment control technology for long-span ballastless track steel girder construction. Detailed construction plans and work instructions were prepared, safety technical briefings were conscientiously conducted, and training on safe operations, quality control, and environmental protection was carried out.

Jiang Benjun stated that the project department will closely monitor on-site management, meticulously organize construction in accordance with standardized operation requirements, and make every effort to ensure the high-quality completion of the pile foundation construction task for the central navigation channel bridge.

It is reported that the central navigation channel bridge of the Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Railway Bridge has a total length of 1,430.8 meters and adopts a three-tower, double-cable-plane steel truss girder cable-stayed bridge type, with a span arrangement of (85.4 m + 182 m + 448 m + 448 m + 182 m + 85.4 m) and a total of 6 piers designed. The first pile drilled this time is Pile No. 16 of the No. 84 auxiliary pier. The foundation of this auxiliary pier adopts 24 friction bored piles with a diameter of 2.5 meters, arranged in a plum-blossom pattern. A single pile is 107 meters long, and pouring requires approximately 565 cubic meters of concrete. The commencement of drilling at the No. 84 auxiliary pier means that the central navigation channel bridge, a key controlling project, has officially started construction, and the construction of the Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Railway Bridge has entered a new acceleration phase.

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The Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Railway Bridge, constructed and managed by the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line Company, designed by China Railway Design Corporation and China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute, and built by China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group and other units, has a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour and a total length of 29.2 kilometers. It includes three navigation channel bridges—north, central, and south—as well as approach bridges crossing the embankment, offshore, and shallow shoal areas, constituting a super-long high-speed railway bridge cluster project. Among them, the north navigation channel bridge with a main span of 450 meters is the world's largest-span ballastless track cable-stayed bridge, and the central navigation channel bridge with a main span of 2×448 meters is the world's largest-span ballastless track three-tower cable-stayed bridge.

The Hangzhou Bay Sea-Crossing Railway Bridge is the controlling project of the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway. The Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway line starts from Nantong West Station, runs south through Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province and Jiaxing City and Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province, and connects to Ningbo Station in the Ningbo hub. The newly built line is 301 kilometers long, with a construction period of 5 years. The entire line has 10 stations: Nantong West, Zhangjiagang, Changshu West, Suzhou North, Suzhou South, Jiashan North, Jiaxing South, Haiyan, Cixi, and Zhuangqiao.

The Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway is an important component of the coastal corridor of the national "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" railway network and a key backbone line of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Once completed, the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-Speed Railway will connect with lines already in operation—such as the Yancheng-Nantong High-Speed Railway, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Railway, and the Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway—as well as lines under construction such as the Jinhua-Ningbo Railway and the Jiangsu South Yangtze River Intercity Railway, and is of great significance for advancing the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.