On January 10, after 28 hours of uninterrupted construction, the No. 0 block of the No. 9 main pier of the Nanchong Jialing River Grand Bridge on the Chengdu-Dazhou-Wanzhou High-Speed Railway (hereinafter referred to as the "Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway") was successfully poured, completing another important milestone in its construction.

The Nanchong Jialing River Grand Bridge is a controlling project of the entire line and also the most difficult bridge to construct along the entire route. The bridge has a total length of approximately 6,225 meters. Its main bridge adopts a low-tower steel hybrid girder cable-stayed design, with a main span of 328 meters, ranking first in the world among low-tower cable-stayed bridges on double-track high-speed railways with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The No. 0 block completed in this pouring is located at the No. 9 main pier, measuring 18.2 meters long, 16 meters wide, and 17.5 meters high, with a concrete volume of approximately 3,000 cubic meters and a weight of 7,500 tons. The entire pouring was completed in two stages, with a cumulative pouring time of 68 hours. To ensure construction quality, the construction unit coordinated the production and transportation of concrete, pre-installed 12 concrete distribution pipes on the No. 0 block, assigned dedicated personnel to monitor concrete vibration, and strictly controlled uniform and layered pouring of concrete, ensuring the smooth progress of long-term uninterrupted pouring.

"The No. 0 block is the most core girder segment of the bridge's main girder, and its construction is an important milestone in the construction of long-span cable-stayed bridges," said Jiang Lin, chief engineer of the Sichuan Road and Bridge Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway Engineering Command. The main tower rises upward from the main pier, and the main girder extends horizontally; the No. 0 block is the midpoint of this "cross" intersection and is the first unit poured during segmental construction of the bridge, essentially serving as the starting point.

The completion of the No. 0 block pouring marks the transition of the Nanchong Jialing River Grand Bridge's work from the substructure to the superstructure. Next, builders will use the No. 0 block as the starting point, adopting the cantilever form traveler method to pour girder segments toward both sides while simultaneously constructing the main tower upward. Jiang Lin stated that this year they plan to complete 80% of the entire bridge's girder pouring, with the main tower topping out in September, and the bridge is expected to close in September 2025.

As of now, 882 work sites of the Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway have commenced construction, with a commencement rate of 84.2%. Li Shengping, commander of the Suining Command of the Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway Company, stated that the advancement of this important milestone on the "most difficult bridge to build on the entire line" has greatly boosted morale and inspired confidence. This year, the construction of the Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway will continue to advance efficiently and with high quality, with 114 of the 133 tunnels on the entire line planned to be holed through, accounting for over 85%.

The Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway has a main line length of 477 kilometers and a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour. Once completed, it will connect Chengdu, Nanchong, and Dazhou in Sichuan Province with Wanzhou in Chongqing Municipality, forming an important fast and convenient corridor for Sichuan's eastward access out of the province. At that time, travel from the provincial capital Chengdu to Dazhou, the easternmost city in Sichuan Province, will be shortened from the current nearly 3 hours to just over 1 hour, further promoting the construction and integrated development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.

As an important component of the "Yangtze River Corridor" in the national "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network, the Chengda-Wan High-Speed Railway will also connect with the existing Zhengzhou-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, forming a convenient passenger transport corridor from Chengdu directly to the Central Plains region and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, greatly facilitating travel for people along the route and promoting economic and social development along the line.