The Bai Ma Qujiang Grand Bridge, a control project of the Shaanxi Zhenba–Sichuan Guang'an Expressway (the "Zhenguang Expressway"), was successfully closed on January 2.

The Bai Ma Qujiang Grand Bridge is 657.8 meters long in total. Its main bridge is a 418.8-meter half-through concrete-filled steel tube arch bridge, with reinforced concrete gravity-type structures at the arch abutments on both banks and a clear span of 390 meters. The steel tube arch of the main bridge is divided into 36 segments with a total weight of about 5,000 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of more than 3,000 cars, and the heaviest segment weighs up to 151 tonnes. The cable hoisting method is adopted, making construction difficult and safety risks high.

A person in charge of the project construction unit explained that due to the constraints of the project's geographical, social and transport conditions, as well as factors such as the oversized dimensions of the steel tube arch segments themselves, it was impossible to transport the segments directly by water as complete units. Therefore, the construction unit set up a large assembly yard 200 meters long and 60 meters wide on shore. After the individual components of the segments were processed, they were transported to the assembly yard for segment assembly. The assembled segments were transported between the two banks using a steel trestle in conjunction with 300-tonne barges, enabling "high-difficulty maneuvers" such as longitudinal and transverse transport and in-air turning during installation of the steel tube arch.

The Zhenguang Expressway, led in investment by Shudao Expressway Group and constructed by Sichuan Road & Bridge, is one of the 13 longitudinal lines in the Sichuan Provincial Expressway Network Layout Plan (2022-2035). The route has a total length of more than 251 kilometers and a total investment of about 48.9 billion yuan. The project is divided into three sections for construction: the Sichuan-Shaanxi border to Wangping section, the Wangping to Tongjiang section, and the Tongjiang to Guang'an section. Once completed, the project will connect to Shaanxi in the north, forming a major northbound corridor out of Sichuan; and connect southward to Guang'an and on to Chongqing, and further to Guangxi, forming a major southbound sea-access corridor.

As of now, the Sichuan-Shaanxi border to Wangping section and the Tongjiang to Guang'an section of the Zhenguang Expressway have completed a cumulative investment of 15.069 billion yuan, accounting for 36.5% of the total investment. The Wangping to Tongjiang section was completed and opened to traffic in January 2022. The entire line is expected to be completed in 2026.