Twin machines hold up the sky, steel arms reach the clouds. At the construction site of the south and north towers of the north navigation channel of the Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge, two Zoomlion Aurora Green super-large tower cranes, the R8000-320, stand tall and face each other from afar, jointly supporting the "rising growth" of the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel.

▲Two Zoomlion R8000-320 cranes stand tall and face each other

The Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge is the world's largest-span suspension bridge under construction, with a total length of about 30 kilometers. The river-crossing section is 7,859 meters long and consists of two navigation channel bridges, south and north, and three approach bridges, south, central and north. The south navigation channel bridge has a main span of 2,300 meters, and the north navigation channel bridge has a main span of 1,208 meters.

▲Schematic diagram of the south and north navigation channels of the Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge (image source: Internet)

Among them, the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel are the world's first main towers that require pre-deflection. The two Zoomlion super-large tower cranes R8000-320 are used in the construction of the lower structure of the main towers of this project, and the current erected height is 230 meters. It is understood that the current construction height of the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel has reached 208 meters, and construction has now reached segment T21.

▲Construction site of two R8000-320 tower cranes

The R8000-320 tower crane used in the project is a super-large tower crane from Zoomlion that has both a "strong body" and a "smart brain." It has a rated load moment of 8,250 tonne-meters, a maximum lifting capacity of 320 tonnes, an independent height of up to 115.3 meters, and a maximum lifting height of 400.3 meters. Its lifting performance surpasses 99.8% of tower cranes currently in use, and it combines high-end, intelligent and green highlights. During the construction of the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel, the relevant person in charge of the on-site engineering department reported that "the 320-tonne lifting capacity greatly improved the installation efficiency of the main towers."

▲Lifting scene of the R8000-320 tower crane on site

At the same time, the R8000-320 is also equipped with a smart command center one-stop integrated platform currently found only in small and medium-tonnage tower cranes. It can achieve ten core functions such as remote control, remote safety inspection, remote commissioning and remote health monitoring, significantly improving the intelligence level of tower crane construction. After the two R8000-320 tower cranes complete the construction of the lower structure of the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel, the Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge will move into the upper structure construction stage.

▲Location map of Zoomlion tower crane construction

The Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge project uses a total of four Zoomlion super-large tower crane products. In addition to the two R8000-320 tower cranes used for the south and north main towers of the north navigation channel, there is also a W12000-450 tower crane used for the construction of the main tower of the south navigation channel, and an LH3350 tower crane used for the construction of the auxiliary tower of the south navigation channel. Among them, the LH3350 tower crane completed its auxiliary tower construction mission at the end of 2024. World-class Zoomlion tower cranes build the world-class Zhangjinggao Yangtze River Bridge. With extreme performance and service, Zoomlion escorts the construction of this world-class bridge and continues to provide core equipment support for major national engineering projects.