China unveils massive rail and vehicle bridge in boost for northern Jiangsu economy

One of the largest bridges in the world connects affluent Shanghai with industrial city of Nantong

Travel times slashed for one of the country’s fastest growing regions as part of infrastructure spending programme

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The bridge over the Yangtze River has a six-lane expressway on the upper deck and four railway tracks on the lower level. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 3:12pm, 4 Jul 2020Updated: 3:12pm, 4 Jul 2020

One of the world’s biggest bridges opened to traffic in China on Wednesday, connecting Shanghai – one of the country’s wealthiest cities – with its less developed neighbour across the Yangtze River in a powerful boost for the local economy.

The 15 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Bridge will slash travel times between the affluent city and Nantong, an industrial city of 7.2 million people in the northern part of Jiangsu province in eastern China.

The bridge, which took six years and four months to build, is 11,072 metres long with a main span of 1,092 metres, making it the world’s first combined bridge with a main span of more than 1,000 metres. It is made of 480,000 tonnes of steel and its main pylon, measured at 330 metres tall, is the tallest among all combined cable-stayed bridges in the world.

The road-rail cable-stayed bridge with the world's longest span opened to traffic on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Economists said the bridge, which has a six-lane motorway on the upper deck and four railway tracks below, will help integrate northern Jiangsu province with the delta – one of China’s fastest growing regions. The new railway line between Shanghai and Nantong will reduce travel time from two hours to just over an hour. Commuters who use the motorway can now travel between Nantong and the city of Wuxi in just 40 minutes.

Chen Wen, a Nanjing-based researcher who studies development of the Yangtze River Delta, said the new bridge had “landmark significance” in the revitalisation of the economy in central and northern Jiangsu. “It will enable these regions to better integrate with Shanghai and tap into [Shanghai’s] resources,” she told Jiangsu TV.