On the morning of January 14, the Sanguantang Bridge, one of the main river crossings connecting the north bank of the Yongjiang River with downtown Ningbo, reached a thrilling historic moment——its main bridge was successfully closed, 45 days ahead of schedule, and the project is planned to be ready for traffic in September.

At around 9 a.m., on the north bank of the Yongjiang River, the water was calm, and sparks flew from the main bridge of the Sanguantang Bridge as welding workers busily welded. This morning, all welding of load-bearing components was completed, marking the successful closure of the main bridge of the Sanguantang Bridge, 45 days ahead of schedule.

Xia Weijie, project manager of the Sanguantang Bridge for the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, said that on January 10, the steel truss girder of the main bridge was lifted into place; at 9 a.m. on January 11, posture adjustment was completed; on the evening of January 13, four main truss joints were welded in place; and on the morning of January 14, welding of the bridge deck was carried out.

The Sanguantang Bridge and its approach project is a key construction project of the three-year "Urban and Rural Excellence" campaign. It starts from Jiangnan Road in the High-tech Zone in the south and ends at Zhongguan West Road in Zhenhai District in the north. The project is 3.3 kilometers long, with a total bridge length of 2.2 kilometers. The standard road cross-section is 68 meters wide, with six lanes in both directions, 4-meter-wide sidewalks in both directions, and 5-meter-wide non-motorized lanes in both directions, making it an urban main road. The main bridge crossing the Yongjiang River is a three-span continuous steel truss girder bridge with a main span of 465 meters, arranged as 160 meters + 465 meters + 160 meters, and a total bridge length of 785 meters.

Once completed, the Sanguantang Bridge will effectively relieve traffic pressure on the Changhong Tunnel, greatly shorten the distance between the High-tech Zone, Eastern New Town, and Zhenhai, and effectively promote the coordinated development of the greater eastern Ningbo area.

Currently, to travel from Zhenhai to the High-tech Zone on the opposite bank of the Yongjiang River, people mainly use the Yongjiang Tunnel, Changhong Tunnel, or Mingzhou Bridge, resulting in long detours. For example, driving from Ningbo University to Huangguan Garden Residential Community in the High-tech Zone via the Mingzhou Bridge is about 7.8 kilometers and takes at least 15 minutes. After the Sanguantang Bridge is completed, the travel time is expected to be halved.

The Sanguantang Bridge and its approach project (Jiangnan Road to Zhongguan West Road) plans to complete the last continuous cast-in-place box girder construction by the end of May 2020, achieving full connectivity;

In September 2020, the project will be ready for traffic, and by the end of December, landscaping and other construction contents of the bridge will be completed.