China Sets World Record: Shijiang Bridge Pylons Reach Height of 110-Story Building
The two main towers of the Shiziyang grand bridge spanning south China's Pearl River were successfully capped on Thursday, setting a new world record for the height of a double-deck suspension bridge, with each standing as tall as a 110-story residential building.
The bridge's construction will be a critical addition to the Shiziyang Channel, another mega infrastructure project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area following the completed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link.
The capping of the two main towers, each standing at 342 meters, marks the bridge construction's transition to the superstructure phase. According to schedule, the Shiziyang Channel is expected to be ready for traffic by the first half of 2029.
Digital control has been implemented throughout the bridge's construction, with Chinese geolocation service BeiDou providing high-precision positioning and an intelligent tower sensing system enabling integrated hoisting, surveying, and monitoring operations. Tower cranes, formwork, and concrete pouring are all automated, achieving millimeter-level precision.
The bridge's main cable exerts a force of up to 125,900 tons, enough to lift twelve Eiffel Towers. Each of the 374 braids that form the main cable includes smart strands that monitor internal humidity, temperature, and stress in real time.
In addition to the towers, the bridge will also feature a main span of 2,180 meters, a main cable diameter of 1.5 meters, anchorage diameters of 130 meters, and a double-deck design accommodating 16 lanes.
