On January 20, the composite cable saddle of the Hutiaoxia Jinsha River Bridge on the Xiangli Expressway, contracted by the Yunnan Construction and Investment Xiangli Expressway General Contracting Project Department, was installed. As the world's largest composite cable saddle, its installation marks the completion of all cable saddle installations for the bridge. At this point, all 2 main cable saddles, 2 splay saddles, and 2 composite cable saddles of the Hutiaoxia Jinsha River Bridge on the Xiangli Expressway have been installed in place, and the bridge is about to enter the main cable installation construction phase.

Rui Xineng, deputy manager of the Yunnan Construction and Investment Xiangli Expressway General Contracting Project Department, told reporters that the composite cable saddle of the Hutiaoxia Jinsha River Bridge on the Xiangli Expressway consists of five main parts: the grid, lower bearing plate, upper bearing plate, rollers, and saddle head. A single composite cable saddle weighs approximately 216 tons and has overall dimensions of 7.2 meters × 4.25 × 3.5 meters, making it the world's largest composite cable saddle at present. Due to transportation constraints, the composite cable saddle was designed to be processed and manufactured in six major components. After being transported to the site, it was installed in strict accordance with the construction plan and the construction techniques specified in the technical regulations. After installation, testing showed that it met the design requirements.

The Hutiaoxia Jinsha River Bridge on the Xiangli Expressway is an important controlling project of the Xiangli Expressway. Construction began in April 2016, and the bridge has now completed 70% of its workload. The main cables of the bridge are 680 millimeters in diameter, and the two main cables weigh 4,850 tons. It is designed as a dual-direction four-lane bridge and is currently the world's longest-span single-tower suspension bridge. The bridge is expected to be completed by the end of 2019 and meet the conditions for opening to traffic.

The Xiangli Expressway has a total length of 140.305 kilometers. The project team entered the site on July 13, 2015. As of December 31, 2018, the entire line has completed a cumulative construction output value of 13.4 billion yuan, with 2.577 billion yuan completed in 2018. It is planned that by the end of 2019, the sections from Baihanchang to Songyuan Bridge and from Chongjiang River to Shangri-La City will be opened to traffic.