On the 29th, after 12 hours of continuous work, the final two steel box girders of the Harbor Bridge's 320-meter main span were hoisted into place, marking the successful closure of the bridge's main span.

The Party flag leads the way in livelihood projects. In 2021, Shatian solidly carried out the "I do practical things for the masses" practice activities, went all out to accelerate the progress of key engineering projects, and with new responsibilities, new actions and a new look, learned from history and put it into practice while doing practical things for the masses, fulfilled its original aspiration and mission, and helped Shatian accelerate a new upsurge in building a "Charming Bay Area, Innovative Port City."

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Harbor Bridge over the East River South Branch in Shatian successfully completed the closure of its main span, marking smooth overall progress in the bridge's construction. According to the set target plan, the Harbor Bridge is expected to be completed by the end of this year, when it will greatly enhance the locational advantages of Nizhou Island and further improve the construction of Shatian's major transportation road network.

The Harbor Bridge over the East River South Branch has a total length of 2.922 kilometers and six lanes in both directions. Its main bridge is a five-span, two-tower steel box girder self-anchored suspension bridge with a main span of 320 meters and a main tower height of 117 meters. It is currently the self-anchored suspension bridge with the largest span in China using the "cable-first, girder-later" construction method. The superstructure of the main bridge is assembled from 55 prefabricated steel box girders. The steel box girders are the most important structure of the main span, with a total weight of more than 15,000 tons, equivalent to the weight of two French Eiffel Towers. The steel box girder closed in this main span closure runs like a "spine" through the east and west banks, injecting life and soul into the entire bridge.

Since the beginning of preparations, the construction of the Harbor Bridge over the East River South Branch has faced difficulties such as many ultra-high-altitude work procedures, a high degree of safety risk, strict waterway control, and tense epidemic prevention and control, making the construction task extremely arduous. Under the strong leadership of the Shatian Town Party Committee and Town Government, our center has always adhered to the original aspiration and mission of "solving the last kilometer of travel for the masses," maintained close contact with the Municipal Transport Bureau, Maritime Safety Administration, Waterway Bureau, construction, supervision, design and other units, continuously optimized technical plans, strictly implemented quality standards, ensured the connection of all procedures, and effectively guaranteed the smooth implementation of the bridge.

In early April of this year, we began to study and plan the closure plan for the main span of the bridge. After more than 70 days and nights of hard work, we scientifically and accurately assessed and analyzed the key links, key procedures and influencing factors, laying a solid foundation for the smooth closure of the main span steel box girders. This successful closure is not only a big step in the engineering construction, but also further verified the innovative "cable-first, girder-later" construction method. The "cable-first, girder-later" self-anchored inverted lifting method implemented in this project is a new construction method in China, providing new ideas and experience for similar bridge construction in the future.

After completion, the Harbor Bridge over the East River South Branch will become the first direct channel connecting the Shatian town area with Nizhou Island and Lisha Island. It will connect Shatian town center and the Nizhou Island of the Dongguan Port petrochemical base and the Lisha Island fine chemical industrial park into an integrated whole. Travel from the Xidatan operation area of the Shatian port area of Dongguan Port to the Lisha Island operation area and the Nizhou Island high-tech industry cluster will be shortened by more than 20 kilometers compared with now. It will play a vital role in promoting Shatian's economic and social development and will also add a significant stroke to Dongguan's deep participation in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.