At 11 a.m. on July 8, with the successful completion of the final traffic switchover on the Changshan Port Bridge in Phase II of the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway expansion project, the 1,263-meter-long Changshan Port Bridge became the first to complete dual eight-lane construction.

It is understood that the Changshan Port Bridge on the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway, built by Zhejiang Communications Group, was originally constructed in December 2000. With a total length of 1,263 meters, its superstructure consists of 20-meter hollow slabs, 40-meter T-beams and continuous box girders, and it was completed and put into operation in 2003. As traffic volumes on the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway have risen year by year, the bridge can no longer meet vehicle capacity requirements or the navigation conditions of the section crossing the Changshan River, making expansion and reconstruction urgent.

As one of the six key control node projects in Phase II of the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou expansion project, the section of the Changshan Port Bridge crossing the Changshan River required complete demolition and reconstruction, that is, widening by 7.25 meters on each side of the existing bridge. The main span crossing the Changshan River needed to meet Class III navigation standards and required a single-span 70-meter steel truss girder weighing about 895 tons. Construction began in April 2018.

The person in charge of the engineering department of the Phase II expansion project headquarters said that the traffic environment within the entire bridge construction area is complex, with dense pipelines near the bridge and close proximity to the existing operating expressway, involving "construction while traffic continues." The geological section is also highly developed karst, making construction operations highly hazardous, complex and prone to sudden incidents. The expansion construction conditions were extremely difficult. It can be said that the construction of the Changshan Port Bridge played a key and decisive role in the smooth implementation of the overall project.

Under such difficult conditions, the Phase II expansion project headquarters led the participating units to actively engage in special campaigns such as "Fight Hard for Four Months and Win the Tough Battle" and "Study Party History, Be Pioneers, Fight for a Hundred Days, and Strive for First-Class." They drew courage to move forward and wisdom to overcome difficulties from studying Party history, and overcame many difficulties and adverse factors, including schedule delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and schedule losses caused by flood seasons and flooding. On the one hand, they scientifically and reasonably arranged construction plans, reversed schedules, used wall charts to direct operations, orderly organized construction teams to enter the site, conducted safety and technical briefings, and strengthened on-site construction safety and quality control. On the other hand, they continuously carried out labor merit competitions, increased investment in workers and machinery and equipment, adopted a construction model of "people rest, machines do not stop," fought through rainy days and seized sunny days, and created a good construction atmosphere in which every minute counted and everyone strove to catch up. After three traffic switchovers, the bridge achieved its completion target two months ahead of schedule.

Phase II of the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou expansion is a key project promoted under the province's major corridor initiative. Once completed, it will be the first eight-lane expressway running through the entire province, and is of great significance for promoting local economic and social development in western Zhejiang and actively integrating into the Yangtze River Delta. The project route is 136.8 kilometers long, with an approved estimated budget of 14.12 billion yuan. It connects to the already expanded and reconstructed Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway section from Hangzhou to the Jinhua interchange, follows the existing Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Expressway alignment, and ends at the mainline toll station at the Zhejiang-Jiangxi provincial border. It is planned to be completed in mid-October 2022. As of the end of June, the project had completed a cumulative investment of 9.305 billion yuan, accounting for 65.9% of the approved estimated budget of 14.118 billion yuan, with overall physical progress at 73.5%. All project builders will continue to work hard and strive to be pioneers in completing the province's major corridor project as early as possible.