In the early hours of September 15, the Beijiang Grand Bridge on the Guangzhou-Lianzhou Expressway was successfully closed. The reporter learned that the Beijiang Grand Bridge is located in Lixi Town, Yingde City, with a total length of 916 meters and six lanes in both directions, crossing the Class III navigation channel of the Beijiang River and National Highway G240. It is a key control project of the entire line. The successful closure of the bridge will further reduce the pressure of subsequent construction and provide a basic guarantee for the smooth opening of the Guangzhou-Lianzhou Expressway by the end of this year.

According to the relevant person in charge of the project, the key process with the greatest technical difficulty and the highest safety risk in the project construction control is the concrete pouring of the closure section of the main bridge. This step has extremely stringent requirements on the temperature environment. Not only must the concrete pouring time be selected during the period of the day when the temperature is lower and the temperature difference is smaller, but the newly poured concrete must also be ensured to reach final setting in a compressed state when the temperature rises, thereby preventing cracking of the concrete in the closure section.

To ensure the smooth closure of the main bridge, the project department carefully organized and planned, choosing to carry out the closure section construction in the early morning hours when the temperature is lowest and the temperature variation is smallest. At the same time, it conducted detailed acceptance inspections of every process, including formwork, steel bar tying, and counterweighting of the closure section.

During the construction of the Beijiang Grand Bridge, the project department innovated a variety of technical applications, such as removable steel suspension box cofferdam construction technology and recyclable prefabricated steel trestle bridges.

"Conventional steel cofferdams in the past were prone to leakage, which made construction relatively difficult during pile cap pouring and also affected the construction schedule," said the relevant person in charge of the project. During construction, the project further improved the anti-seepage and leakage performance of the steel suspension box cofferdam through the construction technology of "outer ring beam + tie rod + anchor bar + anti-leakage anchor box." At the same time, it innovatively developed patents such as a connecting device for water level balance inside and outside the cofferdam, a recoverable bottom plate system for the steel suspension box cofferdam, a disassembly tool for wire rope connected to conduit via rope clips, and a new support lowering device inside the steel sheet pile cofferdam, forming a removable steel suspension box cofferdam construction technology. This technology achieves the goal of recyclable resource utilization, ensures that all cofferdam components and the bottom-sealing concrete bear force as a whole, guarantees construction safety and prevents leakage, and has broad prospects for promotion.

It is reported that the Guangzhou-Lianzhou Expressway is currently the largest single expressway investment project of China Communications Construction, built using the BOT+EPC model. The project starts in Huadong Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou City, and ends in Dalubian Town, Lianzhou City, Qingyuan City, with a total length of 231 kilometers. The Guangzhou-Lianzhou Expressway is not only a key construction project in Guangdong Province but also an important component of the "Guangdong Province Expressway Network Plan 2011-2030." The project construction will further improve the provincial passage between Guangdong and Hunan and the expressway network north of Guangzhou, and is of great significance for accelerating "Guangzhou-Qingyuan integration," helping the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong integrate more quickly into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and promoting economic development in northern Guangdong.