Haiwen Bridge is scheduled for completionand official operation

The Haiwen Bridge, China’s only cross-bridge built over seismic faults, is scheduled for completion and official operation later this month, breaking a number of records in China’s bridge-building history. The 5.6-km-long bridge is expected to promote economic growth of the northern part of South China’s #Hainan Province.

The bridge will cut the drive time down from an hour and a half to just 20 minutes between Haikou, capital city of the island province, and Puqian, both of which are well-known for their local culture and tourist spots.

Built with a total investment of 3.01 billion yuan ($440 million), the bridge, to be named Haiwen Bridge when it is put into official use, will serve as a gateway to Haikou’s Jiangdong New District, which is being built as a comprehensive demonstration area of the China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Since it spans a geological fault line, the bridge is being built to the highest standards for earthquake resistance. 

Launched in 2015, construction of the bridge has set several national records, including the highest level of seismic resistance fortification, the highest level of designed wind speed, the only cross-sea bridge built over seismic faults, the first three-dimensional adjustable cross-fault bridge system, the first continuous steel box across-fault girder structural system, and the largest domestic steel pipe foundation, the latter of which is made with 32 steel pipe composite piles that are each 4.3 meters in diameter, according to Hainan’s provincial transport department.