Shen Weidong, a bridge constructor who will retire next year, has worked across rivers and seas for 41 years, participating in the construction of five national-level key bridges. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge is his final major project. In September 2018, during the sinking of the first steel casing for the west pier of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge amidst the vast sea, he raised his camera and captured this irreplaceable moment. Since then, he has taken tens of thousands of photos on the Lingdingyang estuary.

The soon-to-open Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge is undoubtedly the standout construction project of the summer of 2024. 

Spanning 7 years, at what was originally an expanse of water, it has transformed into a majestic dragon winding and leaping: constructing a sky road over the sea, raising islands from the sea, and building underwater tunnels.

With each infrastructure marvel completed, people marvel at this tremendous change: a world-class landmark standing proudly in the Greater Bay Area. Starting from the Pearl River Estuary, a world-class cluster project of bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges is set to serve the Greater Bay Area. The crucial segment of a 100-kilometer "Golden Inlet" A-shaped transportation network around the Pearl River Estuary is about to take shape. A passage crucial to economic development and people's livelihoods is on the verge of opening.

The Lingdingyang area is a crucial shipping route at the Pearl River Estuary, also one of the busiest in the world, capable of accommodating vessels up to 300,000 tons in capacity.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, featuring the world's largest span of 1,666 meters for an offshore steel box girder suspension bridge, boasts main towers standing at 270 meters tall, equivalent to a 90-story building. With a navigation clearance height of 76.5 meters, it has set five world records. This bridge, the first in Guangdong to receive the George Richardson Medal, a prestigious award in the bridge engineering field, represents a significant achievement.

In the face of harsh conditions including high temperatures, humidity, salt exposure, and frequent strong typhoons, the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge has set five world records: it boasts the largest span for an offshore suspension bridge, the highest navigation clearance, the largest anchorage volume in the sea, the highest tensile strength for main cables, and the highest wind speed for flutter testing.

On the east artificial island of Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, China's first underwater interchange for a highway is located. The west artificial island serves as a transition point between the sea bridge and underwater tunnel. Designed in a diamond shape, this island covers an area of approximately 137,000 square meters, equivalent to about 19 football fields in size.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge features the world's longest and widest underwater immersed tube tunnel, as well as the world's first dual-direction eight-lane steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnel. It stretches approximately 6.8 kilometers in total length (with the immersed tube section being about 5 kilometers), consisting of 32 tube segments and one final joint.

The construction team of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge introduced a groundbreaking new structure for steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnels, a first of its kind in China. They overcame significant global challenges such as manufacturing and prefabrication of steel shells, as well as ultra-long-distance floating installation. Their achievements include setting world records for precise millimeter-level installation accuracy under deep-water conditions for large tube segments.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

深中通道：历时7年建设，蜕变“海上飞虹”

明年即将退休的桥梁建设者沈卫东跨江越海工作了41年，参与过5座国家级重点桥梁建设，深中通道是他人生中参与的最后一次大项目。2018年9月，茫茫海上，深中大桥西主墩沉放第一根钢护筒时，他举起相机，拍下了不可再现的瞬间。此后，他陆陆续续在伶仃洋上拍了几万张照片。

即将通车的深中通道是2024年夏天当之无愧的建设工程“流量担当”。

历时7年，从汪洋一片到巨龙蜿蜒腾跃：架海上天路、升海上之岛、筑海底之隧……

随着一个又一个基建奇迹完成，世人从“叹伶仃”到“叹巨变”：一座湾区的世界级超级地标巍然矗立；从珠江口开始，世界级“桥、岛、隧、水下互通”跨海集群工程即将服务湾区；环珠江口100公里“黄金内湾”A字形交通网络骨架的关键一横即将起笔；一条关系经济发展和人民生活的通道即将开通。

伶仃洋海域是珠江口的重要航运通道，也是世界上最繁忙的航运通道之一，这里的运行（通航）能力达到30万吨级。

主跨1666米的世界最大跨径全离岸海中钢箱梁悬索桥——深中大桥：主塔高270米，相当于90层楼高，通航净空高度为76.5米，创造了5项世界纪录。广东首个获得桥梁界诺奖“乔治·理查德森奖”的大桥。

面对高温、高湿、高盐、强台风频发的恶劣环境，深中大桥创下五项世界纪录：包括离岸海中悬索桥跨径最大、通航净高最高、海中锚碇体量最大、主缆钢丝强度最高、颤振检验风速最高。

深中通道东人工岛上有中国国内首个高速公路水下互通立交。西人工岛则是跨海桥梁和海底隧道转换点，岛体采用菱形设计，面积约13.7万平方米，相当于19个足球场那么大。

深中通道有世界最长最宽的海底沉管隧道、世界首例双向八车道钢壳混凝土沉管隧道，长约6.8公里（沉管段约5公里），由32个管节及1个最终接头组成。

深中通道建设团队在国内首次创新性提出了钢壳混凝土沉管隧道新型结构。攻克了钢壳制造及预制、超长距离浮运安装等世界级难题，创造了大型管节深水条件下毫米级安装精度等世界纪录。

文｜记者 王丹阳
拍摄｜记者 宋金峪 周巍 曾育文 王磊 钟振彬 潘俊华 林桂炎
翻译 | 林佳岱