After putting on masks, cotton safety helmets, and thick work clothes, Liao Xiangdong, Safety Director of the Fifth Sub-division of the Fifth Bid Section Project Department of the Beijing-Tangshan Railway under China Railway 24th Bureau Group Co., Ltd., and his co-workers climbed onto the dozens-of-meters-high bridge piers and, in the biting cold wind, began dismantling the bridge erection machine…… Recently, all 695 box girders of the Fifth Bid Section of the Beijing-Tangshan Railway in Baodi District have been erected, marking that the Tianjin section of the Beijing-Tangshan Railway has fully entered the ballastless track construction stage.

　　The Beijing-Tangshan Railway is a landmark project for implementing the national strategy of coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and for achieving the first breakthroughs in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei transportation integration. It starts at the Beijing Sub-center Station in Tongzhou District, Beijing, passes through Langfang City in Hebei Province and Baodi District in Tianjin, and ends at Tangshan Station in Tangshan City, Hebei Province. The line has a total length of 148 kilometers, with 42.8 kilometers in Tianjin, and is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2022. After completion, together with the Beijing-Binhai Railway, it will become the third high-speed railway corridor between Beijing and Tianjin after the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, strongly promoting railway connectivity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

　　Accelerate the construction of the Beijing-Tangshan, Beijing-Binhai, Tianjin-Xingxing railways and the Tianjin-Jinghai suburban railway, and strive to make the Tianjin section of the Tianjin-Weifang Railway ready for construction…… This year, the city is making all-out efforts to advance a large number of major transportation projects, including railways, highways, ports, and intra-city highway bridges.

　　“Centering on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei transportation integration and road network connectivity among districts, all major projects are being accelerated.” Wang Kuichen, Party Secretary and Director of the Municipal Transportation Commission, introduced, “This year, we will complete the eastern Tianjin section of the Tianjin-Shijiazhuang Expressway and the Binhai New Area section of the Tangshan-Chengde Expressway, advance the construction of projects such as the Jinqi Highway, Jinhan Highway, and Gongnong Avenue, and strive to start construction of the dedicated collection and distribution channel of Tianjin Port; strive to complete the Phase C intelligent container terminal in the Beijiang Port Area; promote the commissioning of the Haijia Ro-Ro Automobile Terminal and the Bohua Liquid Chemical Terminal Project (Phase I) in the Dagang Port Area; continue the construction of the Sinopec LNG Terminal (Phase II), and start the Beiran LNG Terminal Project.”

　　At the same time, safety inspections and key maintenance will also be strengthened for intra-city highway bridges. “Through daily patrols by maintenance personnel and regular inspections entrusted to professional units, we will track and monitor bridge operating conditions in a timely manner, and promptly adopt safety protection measures for problems found in inspections to ensure traffic safety. We will increase the promotion and application of new technologies for bridge maintenance and repair as well as bridge inspection and maintenance, improve bridge durability and operating conditions, and provide strong safety guarantees for citizens' travel.” said Wei Hongyun, Deputy Director of the Municipal Transportation Commission.