New Bridge for SW Chinese County Completed

New Bridge for SW Chinese County Completed

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The new bridge in Qijiang County of Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, at a point close to the site of the collapsed Hongqiao bridge on the Qihe River, was completed and put into operation December 18.

The Hongqiao bridge collapsed on January 4 this year, claiming 40 lives. The incident also led to six million yuan (US$720,000) in direct economic losses.

Investigation showed that the steel bridge, erected by a private contractor in 1996, was of inferior quality, and the accident was the result of an official's dereliction of duty and negligent engineering and construction.

The new bridge, also named the Hongqiao, was built at a cost of eight million yuan, mainly provided by local government.

The arched bridge, China's longest steel footbridge, is 160 meters long and 7.5 meters wide.

Construction of the bridge, connecting two residential areas, began in mid-May of last year, and the local government has vowed to give priority to quality in the course of completing this project.

Through public bidding, the Bridge Engineering Bureau under the Ministry of Railways won the right to build the new bridge, which was recently inspected and has so far been built using high quality standards by bridge engineering experts.

A stele with a modern sculpture is placed at the eastern end of the new Hongqiao bridge as a sign against corruption.