In the early winter season, as the chill gradually deepens, the construction site of the Zaolinzhuang Junction Reconstruction and Expansion Project in Xiong'an New Area is bustling with activity: excavators keep swinging their long arms, cranes and lifts operate in an orderly manner, and bulldozers and transport trucks shuttle back and forth...

"Look, this is the reconstructed flood discharge gate; what is currently under construction is the upper structure of the gate chamber section." Following the direction of Li Jianguang's finger, the reporter saw that the construction site is located twenty to thirty meters downstream of the old flood discharge gate.

Li Jianguang is the project manager of the Zaolinzhuang Junction Reconstruction and Expansion Project of China Xiong'an Group Ecological Construction Investment Co., Ltd., and he and the construction workers have been working continuously on the site for more than 11 months.

The Zaolinzhuang Junction Reconstruction and Expansion Project is divided into the flood discharge gate construction area and the levee and overflow construction areas, among others. "The original flood discharge gate had 25 openings; the reconstructed flood discharge gate has 32 openings, with the width of a single opening increased from 10 meters to 12 meters, thus increasing the flood discharge flow; the function of the regulating gate is to regulate the water level of Baiyangdian, and the original 4-opening regulating gate is being reconstructed into a 6-opening regulating gate; the Zhaobeikou overflow weir is being reinforced; the junction management buildings and hydrological facilities are being reconstructed; and 3 kilometers of levee in the connecting section are being reinforced and reconstructed," Li Jianguang introduced the main construction contents of the project.

The project started on December 30, 2023, with an estimated total investment of 1.227 billion yuan, of which 450 million yuan in national bond funds was allocated. As of now, a cumulative investment of 565 million yuan has been completed, with a 100% completion rate of national bond fund investment.

The reporter learned that the function of the flood discharge gate is to open and discharge floodwater when the water level of Baiyangdian exceeds the warning level; therefore, under normal circumstances the gate is not opened to release water, and the daily water of Baiyangdian flows through the regulating gate into the Zhaowang New River.

"While constructing the flood discharge gate, we will also build the stilling basin, apron, and anti-scour trench," Li Jianguang said. The stilling basin is a sunken sill made of concrete; after the flood discharge gate is opened, the water's impact is relatively strong, and when the water rushes onto the concrete of the stilling basin, part of the force is dissipated.

Before next year's flood season, the reconstructed 32-opening flood discharge gate must be basically completed and capable of gate opening and closing and flood discharge functions. The schedule is rather tight; how can winter construction be carried out while seizing the schedule under the premise of ensuring project quality?

Gong Zheng, production manager of the Zaolinzhuang Junction Reconstruction and Expansion Project Department of China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group, explained that the installation and welding of the steel structures of the flood discharge gate piers, as well as concrete pouring, can be carried out in winter as long as insulation and curing measures are taken. "The measures we have adopted are installing warm sheds, windbreak sheds, and hot steam. For earthwork operations, we will prepare materials in advance to ensure that construction can enter the construction stage as soon as possible next spring."

Driving about 17 kilometers north from the construction site of the Zaolinzhuang Junction Reconstruction and Expansion Project in Xiong'an New Area, one arrives at the site of the Xingaifang Flood Diversion Channel Right Levee Reinforcement and Treatment Project (Phase II) in Xiong'an New Area.

At the construction site of the levee crest road, the reporter saw that a leveling device is mounted in front of the motor grader; after the grader passes, the soil layer is spread and leveled, and then a road roller is used to compact it layer by layer.

This project is an important project for ensuring the flood control safety of the Xiongxian group, with a total length of 16.6 kilometers. The project started in March 2024, and the main works will be completed by the end of 2024.

Cao Zhigang, project manager of the Xingaifang Flood Diversion Channel Right Levee Reinforcement and Treatment Project (Phase II) of China Xiong'an Group Ecological Construction Investment Co., Ltd., introduced that the main construction contents include levee heightening and reinforcement, levee slope protection, pond filling and foundation consolidation, levee foundation treatment, and levee crest road works.

"Although it is called levee reinforcement and treatment, it is actually the construction of a new large levee, with the levee slope protected by grass planting. The new levee is about 2 meters higher than the old levee; for example, the old levee at the bid section head is 12 meters high, while the new levee is 14 meters high," Cao Zhigang said. The former levee was a dirt road with a flood control standard of a 20-year return period; now the flood control standard has been raised to a 100-year return period. The project has a total investment of 1.537 billion yuan, with 680 million yuan in national bond funds allocated. As of now, earthwork filling has basically been completed, with a cumulative investment of 1.216 billion yuan, and both the completion rate and payment rate of national bond fund investment are 100%.

The project mainly involves earthwork and stonework operations, requiring turning and drying and compaction of earth and stone. To ensure construction progress, within the 16.6-kilometer work section, they divided it into 33 construction units at 500-meter intervals, carrying out zoned and phased flow-line operations. In addition, during the peak construction period, more than 380 transport vehicles and more than 400 pieces of mechanical equipment such as excavators, road rollers, motor graders, loaders, and bulldozers were arranged; these measures accelerated the construction progress.

China Xiong'an Group Ecological Construction Investment Co., Ltd. adheres to taking project construction as its "lifeline." Since the start of water conservancy projects, it has organized construction units to optimize resource input, comprehensively implemented scientifically saturated construction, and accelerated levee filling work. It passed the flood season smoothly this summer and carried out a "100-day major campaign" after the flood season. At the same time, they established a supervision unit management center and a quality testing management center to strictly control supervision performance and random inspection of project entity quality during project implementation, established an acceptance system for key links, and had professional personnel from the safety and quality department and all participating units jointly accept key processes, carrying out flood control project construction with high standards, high quality, and high efficiency to build a solid safety barrier for the "City of the Future."

The reporter learned that Xiong'an New Area has firmly seized the major opportunity of the state's additional issuance of national bonds and has secured a total of 13 water conservancy projects funded by additional national bonds, with 5.257 billion yuan in national bond funds allocated. The Party Working Committee and Management Committee of Xiong'an New Area attach great importance to the construction of water conservancy projects funded by additional national bonds, focus on the annual target requirements of additional national bond projects, provide strong impetus for project construction through coordination, scheduling, and mechanism guarantees, coordinate quality, safety, and progress, bring project benefits into play as early as possible, and make every effort to build projects that win public support, are of high quality, and are clean.