At 10:00 on July 26, with the precise installation of the final bridge deck panel, the Mingyuexia Yangtze River Bridge—a control project on the Chongqing Railway Hub East Loop Line (hereinafter referred to as the Chongqing East Loop Line), designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group and constructed by China Railway No.2 Engineering Group—was successfully closed after more than four years, laying a solid foundation for the smooth opening of the entire line.

The Mingyuexia Yangtze River Bridge is located in Yuquan Village, Guangyang Town, Nan'an District, Chongqing, on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is China's first double-deck, four-track railway asymmetric vase-shaped pylon steel truss cable-stayed bridge, with a total length of 877.8 meters, including a main span of 425 meters. The upper deck is reserved for a double-track high-speed railway, while the lower deck carries the double-track mixed passenger and freight railway of the Chongqing East Loop Line.

The bridge's steel truss girder adopts an N-shaped main truss structure with an orthotropic dense cross-beam deck system, comprising 69 segments with a total weight of more than 26,000 tons. The bridge consists of two pylons, two piers and two abutments. The two pylons are 189.5 meters and 203 meters high respectively. The main pylons are connected to the steel truss girder by 120 stay cables, which are arranged in an asymmetric spatial double-cable-plane fan pattern. The bridge features a novel overall structure, advanced technology and an attractive appearance.

According to reports, to solve the deep-water foundation construction challenges of the Mingyuexia Yangtze River Bridge, the project department manufactured a giant steel cofferdam weighing more than 2,600 tons. The steel cofferdam was floated by barge for 117 kilometers from Fuling to the bridge site, setting a record for the longest inland river floating transport distance in China. At the same time, given the high risk of ship collisions with the bridge due to fast currents, measures such as installing navigation aid facilities in the bridge area, filling the lower pylon columns with concrete, and using self-floating steel-clad composite anti-collision facilities reduced the risk of ship collisions and enabled the lower pylon structures to achieve the highest level of ship collision resistance.

It is reported that once completed, the Chongqing East Loop Line will connect the main urban areas of Chongqing including Shuitu, Konggang, Longsheng, Donggang, Chayuan and Nanpeng, serving industrial enterprise freight transport and local residents' travel. It is of great significance for promoting urbanization and industrial development along the route, enhancing the flexibility of transportation organization at the Chongqing hub, and improving the passenger and freight transport layout.