Taizhou Bridge Takes Home Top Structural Engineering Prize

The Taizhou Bridge, a mega-construction project spanning the Yangtze River, has taken home the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence at that this year’s Structural Engineering Awards.

Spanning a nearly 3 kilometer wide section of the Yangtze River, the Taizhou Bridge is the World’s only two span, three tower suspension bridge.  As detailed in its engineering plans, both of the Taizhou’s main spans measure in at an enormous 1,080 meters (3540 ft) long. To put that distance in context, the main span of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge is 1,280 meters (4,200ft). While the Taizhou Bridge’s main body is certainly massive on its own, connecting the mega structure to banks of the Yangtze are two additional 390 meter (1,2800 ft) lengths.

In the end, the total length of the Taizhou Bridge is 2,940m (9646 ft); certainly a substantial number, though still nowhere near the 3,911 meter (12,831 ft) length of the world’s longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan.

Putting that record aside, the judges at the Structural Awards were very impressed with the Taizhou Bridge. According to the judges, “This enormous project was an extraordinary achievement, which pushed the frontiers of suspension bridge technology to new heights."

But praise for the bridge didn’t end there, as judges made sure to let the world know that “Bridge engineering has just moved forward by a very significant margin."

For those of you near Taizhou, China, the massive span is now open to traffic. Designed to accommodate six lanes of traffic and two service lanes, the bridge should be able to handle even the most congested Chinese traffic as it trundles along the country’s Pacific coast.

Image Courtesy of The Institution of Structural Engineers