The just-concluded Fifth Municipal Party Congress proposed to build Jingzhou into a new economic growth pole of Hubei, a modern central city of the Jianghan Plain, and an important central city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. To implement the spirit of the Party Congress with practical actions, let's look at the progress of key projects. Among the three Yangtze River bridges under construction in Jingzhou, the Shishou Yangtze River Highway Bridge, with the highest investment and the greatest construction difficulty, has made new progress. The lower tower column and lower crossbeam of the north main tower of the Shishou Yangtze River Highway Bridge have been completed, and the construction has entered the middle tower column, laying the foundation for the capping of the 232-meter-high north main tower. The north and south banks of the bridge are expected to be joined in the first half of 2018.
　　The reporter saw at the construction site on the north bank of the Shishou Yangtze River Highway Bridge that the north main tower located by the river has entered the construction of the middle tower column. It is understood that the middle tower column is constructed using hydraulic climbing formwork in segments, divided into 46 standard segments. The construction height of each standard segment is 4.5 meters, and the current height has reached 41 meters. Simultaneously, the construction of the north approach bridge is also underway.
　　Because the Shishou Yangtze River Highway Bridge is located in the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River, where the soil is soft and no rock layer is found within 300 meters below the riverbed, the construction team adopted super-long piles with a length of 119 meters and a diameter of 2.5 meters to solve the "foundation" problem. However, the middle tower columns of the bridge are constructed separately and synchronously, and the left and right middle tower columns can only be joined at a height of 177 meters, which brings great difficulties to the construction.
　　The Shishou Yangtze River Highway Bridge officially started construction in May 2015, with simultaneous construction on the north and south banks. The main towers on both banks face each other across the river, forming an ultra-long main span of 820 meters, making the Shishou Yangtze River Bridge the most comprehensive and difficult bridge among the three bridges under construction in Jingzhou this year. The bridge will complete the approach roadbed, bridges, and other projects by the end of June 2017, and the north and south banks will be joined in the first half of 2018. It is expected to be completed and open to traffic in April 2019.
　　It is understood that the project route starts from the west of Puji Town, Jiangling County, Jingzhou City, connects to the Qianjiang-Shishou Expressway under construction, passes through Henggou Town, crosses the Yangtze River near Beinianzi Village, and connects to the completed Jiangnan Expressway at the west of Gaojimiao Town, Shishou City. The total length of the route is 39.723 kilometers, with an estimated total investment of 7.523 billion yuan. The entire line is constructed to expressway standards, with a design speed of 100 km/h, and most sections adopt the standard of two-way six lanes. After completion, it will form a rapid river-crossing channel together with the Jingzhou Yangtze River Road-Rail Dual-Use Bridge under construction and the Honghu-Jiayu Yangtze River Bridge, greatly improving the traffic conditions of the 8 counties and districts distributed on both sides of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou City.