40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening-up: History of the Yellow River Bridges

The Zhengzhou-Xinxiang Yellow River Bridge. [Dahe.cn]

The Yellow River has given birth to a splendid Chinese civilization. Since the reform and opening-up, the bridges over the Yellow River have witnessed the dreams of “rejuvenating the country with transportation” of countless people with lofty ideals, recorded the glory of Henan people who finally built “their own bridges”, and showed the prosperity brought by the bridges on the Yellow River today.

The first bridge bears a history

In 1986, a modern highway bridge was built on the Yellow River. Prior to this, there was no highway bridge on the Yellow River at all from Luoyang to the boundaries of Henan and Shandong. In 1970, the old railway bridge on the Yellow River was converted into a highway bridge, only for one-way alternate driving. In 1983, the long-delayed plan to build the bridge was finally put into action.

This modern large-span bridge designed and constructed by our province was started construction on July 5, 1984 and completed on September 17, 1986, which cost only two years and more than two months. The rapid construction speed and the excellent project quality created a miracle in the history of highway bridge construction in China.

The first widest river-spanning bridge witnesses the great change of the cities

On the map, one can see a triangle taking Zhengzhou, Xinxiang and Kaifeng as three vertexes. The Guandu Yellow River Bridge over the Yellow River, which was started construction in September 2016, is just like a key inserted in the keyhole of the "triangle lock".

The Guandu Yellow River Bridge is named because it is only 20km away from the ancient Guandu Battle Site with two-way eight lanes, and is planned to be completed next year. Since the bridge is the widest Yellow River Bridge under construction today in Henan, it is known as the “First Widest River-spanning Bridge”. “We are actively building a 'wisdom construction site'. It can be said that it is the bridge with the highest utilization rate on the Yellow River," Chen Bao, general manager of Henan Guandu Yellow River Bridge Development Co Ltd said. “After the construction, the time from Zhengzhou to Xinxiang will be greatly shortened and the contacts between Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Xinxiang will be much closer.”

The bridges help economies soar

At present, there are 15 various Yellow River bridges in Henan. By 2020, there will be another 7 bridges built and opened to traffic on the Yellow River in our province. The construction speed and quantity of the bridges on the Yellow River are closely related to the reform and opening-up and the development of the national economy.

The Zhengzhou-Xinxiang Yellow River Rail-Road Bridge is the world's first and largest high-speed railway-and-highway bridge awarded the “Luban Prize” of China's construction project. The Liujiang Yellow River Highway Bridge, which was opened to traffic in 2004, is known as the "most beautiful bridge on the Yellow River." The Taohuayu Yellow River Bridge is a three-span, double-tower and self-anchored suspension bridge with a main span of 406 meters, which is the longest-span bridge of the same type in the world.

The Yellow River bridges are creating legends one after another in China’s engineering history and their construction processes are also histories of people in Central Plains to strive ahead. (Reporter Song Min, Trans Zhao Xiaoran, Proofreading Zhao Hanqing)