THE State Planning Commission has given the go-ahead for the construction of a second Nanjing Yangtze River bridge at Baguazhou, eight kilometres downstream from the existing crossing.
According to the Nanjing Municipal Government, feasibility studies have already begun on two possible designs: a cable-stayed bridge with a 606-metre span or a suspension bridge with a 1,160-metre span.
Either way, it will be one of the biggest bridges of its type in the world and certainly one of the biggest in China, according to Wu Huan Ling, an engineer and vice director with the Office Preparing to Construct the Second Nanjing Yangtze River.
Work is not expected to begin on the 4.4 kilometre bridge and approaches until the second half of 1995, with the completion date set for 1999.
Based on today's prices, the bridge will cost between two billion and 2.7 billion yuan (between HK$3 billion and $4.05 billion).
The existing bridge, built for a maximum capacity of 25,000 vehicles a day, already handles 27,000 vehicles.