Recently, the construction of the Houlou to Guanqiao section of the Phase II Project for the resumption of navigation on the Xinwanfu River reached an important milestone—the main works of the core control hub along the entire line have been completed, construction in all contract sections has been comprehensively accelerated, and the overall project construction has formed a strong momentum of multi-point advancement and coordinated tackling of key challenges, laying a solid foundation for the project to achieve full-line navigation at an early date and empower the development of the southwestern Shandong region.

　　As of now, gratifying progress has been made in the construction of each sub-project. The waterway works in Contract Sections I to IV are advancing steadily: earthwork excavation is 93% complete, revetment structure construction is 43% complete, foundation construction for the Xuezhuang navigation lock is 95% complete, and foundation pouring and base slab construction for the Liulin regulating sluice are fully complete. In Contract Section V, the Guanqiao hub project has not only fully completed the main lock body and the pile foundation construction of the regulating sluice, but ancillary structures such as the upstream and downstream guide walls and mooring dolphins are also being constructed in an orderly manner. In Contract Section VI, bridge works are steadily accelerating, with pile foundations, pile caps, piers, bent caps, and precast box girders respectively 76%, 68%, 44%, 33%, and 11% complete, and the overall construction trend is stable and improving.

　　During construction, the project team directly confronted multiple technical challenges, including seepage prevention and crack resistance for mass concrete and the great difficulty of construction during the flood season, and adopted precise measures and scientific construction. By innovatively adopting the alternate bay pouring process and implementing refined temperature monitoring and control throughout the mass concrete construction process, the team effectively overcame technical pain points in construction and comprehensively ensured the construction quality, structural safety, and construction progress of the main lock project. At the same time, supporting projects such as waterway revetments and reconstructed river-crossing bridges were advanced in parallel. The project team reversed the construction schedule, carried out operations with charts, and advanced construction work at multiple points in parallel, creating a construction momentum of full-team tackling of key challenges and full-speed advancement.

　　To ensure efficient and orderly project advancement, a normalized promotion mechanism of "monthly targets and weekly scheduling" was established on the construction site, strictly compacting the main responsibilities of all parties including the general construction contractor, supervision, and testing units, and always adhering to the three bottom lines of project quality, work safety, and ecological environmental protection. By continuously optimizing construction organization plans, scientifically allocating construction resources such as manpower and machinery, refining construction milestones for each process, and fully seizing the golden construction window period, the team steadily promoted quality improvement and acceleration of the entire line's works, and the construction progress of all contract sections met the required schedule.

　　It is reported that the Houlou to Guanqiao section of the Phase II Project for the resumption of navigation on the Xinwanfu River has an estimated total investment of 3.095 billion yuan and is planned to build 22.55 kilometers of Class III waterway, including a 1.4-kilometer Liulin River branch waterway. The waterway starts 240 meters below the Houlou sewage interception and diversion sluice of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and ends downstream of the Guanqiao ship lock. The main construction content covers the new construction of the Guanqiao ship lock, Guanqiao regulating sluice, water pumping station, and Xuezhuang navigation regulating sluice, as well as the reconstruction of river-crossing bridges and the upgrading and renovation of riverside water conservancy supporting facilities.

　　This project is a key livelihood project and transportation hub project for improving the inland river navigation system in southwestern Shandong. Once completed, the project will effectively make up for the shortcomings of inland river navigation in the region, smooth the water-land intermodal transport corridor, substantially enhance the regional waterway navigation capacity and logistics transportation efficiency, reduce logistics costs, and at the same time strongly drive the clustered development of industries along the route, activate the momentum of regional economic development, and inject strong water transport momentum into the high-quality economic and social development of southwestern Shandong.

Source: Dazhong.com