On November 24, the first steel box girder, weighing 490 tonnes, was installed on the Zhongshan Bridge of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, marking that construction of the main bridge's superstructure has entered the fast lane.

The first girder of the Zhongshan Bridge on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link being erected

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is a world-class cross-sea cluster project integrating "bridges, islands, tunnels and underwater interchanges", with a total length of 24 kilometers. The bridge section is about 17.2 kilometers long, and its key control works are the Lingdingyang Bridge, a two-tower suspension bridge with a main span of 1,666 meters, and the Zhongshan Bridge, a two-tower cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 580 meters.
It is understood that a total of 69 steel box girders need to be erected for the main bridge of the Zhongshan Bridge. They are prefabricated by the Project Department of Contract Section G05 of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link under China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group, and hoisted and erected by the Project Department of Contract Section S06 of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link under CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co., Ltd. The steel box girder erected this time is 4 meters high, 12.4 meters long and 43.5 meters wide, equivalent to the area of 1.3 international basketball courts, and was installed using the integral hoisting method with a 1,000-tonne floating crane.

The first girder of the Zhongshan Bridge being erected on site

Recently, affected by a cold wave, the temperature in the construction area dropped sharply and the wind over the sea increased. To ensure the safe and smooth hoisting of the first steel box girder, the construction team held several expert technical review meetings, worked closely with maritime and other authorities to study the construction safety technical plan, repeatedly rehearsed the hoisting process, and used BIM technology to build precision models of each component and simulate the installation process and parameter settings, ensuring that the installation accuracy of the steel box girder met the requirements. At the same time, during the girder erection process, the construction team kept a close watch on wind and current conditions and adjusted the work content in a timely manner to ensure safe and efficient high-altitude offshore operations.

The first steel box girder of the Zhongshan Bridge on the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has been hoisted into place

At 17:20 on November 24, after 5 hours and 20 minutes, the construction team steadily completed the erection of the first steel box girder like assembling building blocks, thus kicking off the hoisting and erection of the steel box girders for the main bridge of the Zhongshan Bridge and laying an important foundation for the closure of the main bridge next year.