On April 13th, Guangdong Transportation Group announced that the Shen-Zhong Passage, a mega-project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has successfully entered the bridge load testing phase, which will continue until April 17th.
Next, a convoy of up to 136 large trucks with a total weight of about 5000 tons will conduct "physical examinations" for the Zhongshan Bridge, Lingdingyang Bridge, and the non-navigable span bridge of the Shen-Zhong Passage.
Introduction: Load tests are a crucial step before the opening of a bridge, comprising static and dynamic load tests.
By simulating equivalent traffic loads, on-site testing assesses the responses of various bridge components (such as main girders, pylons, and cables) to determine if the bridge's load-bearing capacity meets design and regulatory requirements. It provides initial data for long-term health monitoring and scientific support for future maintenance and management decisions.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Channel Bridge project spans approximately 17 kilometers, featuring the Zhongshan Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge with the world's largest span and a fully off-shore steel box girder, Lingdingyang Bridge, and a non-navigable span bridge.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a world-class project integrating bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interchanges, spans approximately 24 kilometers with a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour and features eight lanes in each direction.
Currently, efforts are in full swing to advance the project's electromechanical, safety, road surface, and ancillary construction, aiming for a June opening.
Upon completion, the link will provide a direct connection across the river from Zhongshan to Shenzhen, reducing travel time from around 2 hours to within 30 minutes.
