On May 18, the Liuzhou–Jinxiu Expressway (Tongmu–Jinxiu section), constructed by Guangxi Road and Bridge Group, achieved full-line breakthrough, marking a major milestone in the project's construction and laying a solid foundation for opening to traffic this year.

The 19.8-kilometer Tongjin Expressway connects to the Heba Expressway in the north and reaches Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in the south. It is a major project coordinated and advanced at the autonomous region level and a key livelihood project leading to the "World Capital of the Yao People."

The project includes 31 bridges along its entire length, with a bridge-to-tunnel ratio as high as 67%. The tallest bridge piers exceed 80 meters, and most are located in deep mountain valleys. Some bridge sections must cross rivers and local roads, creating a combination of challenges: narrow construction space, high-altitude operations, cross-construction, and ecological protection. In addition, three mountain-crossing tunnels must pass through karst caves, fractured zones, and water-inflow sections, with complex and variable geological conditions.

Faced with this series of construction difficulties, the Tongjin Expressway project team adapted measures to local conditions and pursued innovation, using a series of hard-core technical breakthroughs and refined construction techniques to tackle the "hard bones" of bridge and tunnel construction one by one.

Innovative techniques cleverly resolved bridge and tunnel difficulties. To address the easy collapse of the rock wall of pile foundations on the Gualiu Grand Bridge, the project innovatively adopted anchor pre-reinforcement technology to stabilize the slope rock mass and build a solid load-bearing foundation for the bridge structure. Facing the curing challenge of piers over 60 meters high, it switched to concrete curing agents to ensure quality and improve curing efficiency. Facing the difficulty of high-altitude construction of high-pier bent caps, it adopted the "K-frame method" aerial operation mode, avoiding the road below and completing bent cap construction safely and efficiently. At the same time, to adapt to the "S"-shaped alignment of mountain bridges, T-beams were "tailor-made," and anti-slip beam transport channels were paved to ensure the safe transport and erection of T-beams on steep slopes under heavy loads.

Green empowerment protects the ecological foundation. The project consistently practices the concept of "green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly" development and strictly observes ecological red lines. It adopted river channel diversion and protection, processing and reuse of tunnel spoil, recycling of pile foundation mud, low-noise equipment, and intelligent spray dust suppression to maximize protection of the original ecology of water resource protection zones and scenic areas along the route, achieving coordinated coexistence of engineering construction and ecological protection.

At present, about 30% of pavement paving on the Tongjin Expressway project has been completed, and traffic safety and greening works are being advanced in an orderly manner in parallel. The project has fully entered the sprint stage toward opening to traffic.

After the Tongjin Expressway opens to traffic, it will greatly shorten the travel time and distance between Jinxiu and cities such as Liuzhou and Laibin, link the development threads of ecological cultural tourism and specialty agriculture in the Dayao Mountains, pave a road to prosperity for rural revitalization in ethnic areas, and provide solid support for deepening ethnic unity and integration, activating regional development momentum, and boosting high-quality local economic development.

Source: People's Daily Online – Guangxi Channel