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Leshan, May 8 (Xinhua) — Sichuan Expressway Construction and Development Group Co., Ltd. revealed on May 8 that after more than 1,100 days and nights of strenuous work by the builders, the Suba Grand Bridge, one of the key control projects of the Mabian-Zhaojue section of the Sichuan Leshan-Xichang Expressway (the "Lexi Expressway"), has achieved full double-tube completion, laying a solid foundation for subsequent construction and the completion of the entire line in 2025.

The Suba Grand Bridge is located in Suba Town, Mabian County, Leshan City, spanning the Mabian River and National Highway G348. "The bridge has a total length of 835.5 meters, and its main bridge is a 370.5-meter-span deck-type reinforced concrete rigid-skeleton arch bridge, ranking second in China and first in Sichuan among completed highway bridges of the same type." said Zeng Yifeng, chief engineer of the S1-2 project management department of the Lexi Expressway.

It is understood that the Suba Grand Bridge of the Lexi Expressway is invested and constructed by Sichuan Expressway Company of Shudao Group and built by Sichuan Road & Bridge. The main bridge was constructed using the bracket-free cable hoisting technique. The construction area is located on steep cliff terrain, and the main bridge crosses existing national and county roads, making construction highly difficult. At the same time, the work surface is nearly 300 meters above the river, equivalent to the height of a 100-story building, and faces the impact of extreme mountain weather, posing high construction risks. During construction, through refined finite-element model simulation calculations and full-process high-precision measurement control, the axis error of the closure segment was required to be controlled within 5 millimeters and the elevation within 7 millimeters, achieving high closure precision.

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During the construction of the Suba Grand Bridge, all participating parties overcame difficulties. Adopting a prestressed concrete low-tower cable-stayed bridge, and on the premise of not lowering standards or reducing functions, they optimized and changed it to a 370.5-meter main-span deck-type reinforced concrete rigid-skeleton arch bridge, saving about 40 million yuan in cost. To facilitate travel for people on both banks, 1.35-meter-wide pedestrian walkways were set up on both sides of the bridge deck, shortening the crossing time for people on both banks from 1 hour to about 15 minutes. "The C120 ultra-high-grade concrete internal pouring construction of the Suba Grand Bridge posed difficulties such as the difficulty of mix proportion design research, large pumping height difference and long distance, large single pumping volume, and one-time pressure injection to the top." said Lan Fu'an, Party secretary and chairman of Sichuan Expressway Lexi Company of Shudao Group. The project department invited industry experts and university professors to provide on-site guidance, and through repeated tests and adjustments, ultimately ensured construction operations such as concrete pouring for the bridge.

It is reported that after the entire Lexi Expressway is completed, the road will be open to traffic around the clock, boosting economic and social development and rural revitalization in cities and counties along the route such as Mabian County in Leshan, Meigu County and Zhaojue County in Liangshan Prefecture, and adding a new major transportation corridor between the Chengdu Plain and the Panxi region.