“No rainbow without a storm” — the construction of the Zhanjiang Diaoshun Sea-Crossing Bridge finally reached a major breakthrough at 10:18 on December 1, as the first bored pile officially “broke ground” in Potou District on the east bank, while the west bank trestle started construction simultaneously. This marks substantive progress in the preparatory work for the Diaoshun Sea-Crossing Bridge and lays a solid foundation for subsequent construction, heralding that a new landmark will soon “span” Zhanjiang Bay and “shine alongside” the completed Zhanjiang Bay Bridge.
The Zhanjiang Diaoshun Sea-Crossing Bridge is located in the north of Zhanjiang City. The route starts south of Wenche Village in Suixi County, connecting with the G325 realignment section, runs along the south side of the oil depot and the south side of Xuwu Village, and crosses the sea 407 m from the southern end of the South Wharf of the upstream base and 949 m from the northern end of the North Wharf of the Aoli Oil Power Plant downstream. On the east bank, the route is 20 m from the planned Potou Port Area; the route runs eastward and intersects with Haidong Avenue at Shantang Village in Potou District, with a total length of 9.313 km. In the long term, the route will continue northeast, passing south of Xingzhong Village, south of Shangjishi, Banjiuzui, north of Zhuangwudong and north of Nayang, and terminate at Jiugong Village where it intersects with the existing National Highway G325.
The project route has a total length of 9.313 km, designed for a speed of 80 km/h to Class I highway two-way six-lane standards, with a standard subgrade cross-section total width of 32 m and an asphalt concrete pavement structure. The entire line has 5,979 m of bridges in 4 structures, including one extra-large bridge of 4,809 m, one large bridge of 840 m and two medium bridges of 150 m; one overpass; eight culverts; and one simple interchange.
The Zhanjiang Diaoshun Sea-Crossing Bridge is built under the PPP model. By introducing social capital, it is jointly funded and constructed by China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and Zhanjiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd., with a construction period of about 30 months. Once completed, the bridge will fully serve the people of Zhanjiang, facilitate convenient transportation and economic interconnection between the east and west banks of Zhanjiang, and add a brilliant touch to Zhanjiang's transport infrastructure construction.