Lancang River Railway Bridge

Lancang River Railway Bridge 与澜沧江大桥
Coordinates	25°17′25″N 99°21′00″E / 25.290139°N 99.350056°E / 25.290139; 99.350056Coordinates: 25°17′25″N 99°21′00″E / 25.290139°N 99.350056°E / 25.290139; 99.350056
Carries	Railway
Crosses	Lancang River
Locale	Baoshan, Yunnan, China
Characteristics
Design	Arch
Longest span	342 m (1,122 ft)
Clearance below	271 m (889 ft)
History
Opened	Expected 2018
Lancang River Railway Bridge Location in Yunnan

The Lancang River Railway Bridge is an arch bridge under construction linking the cities of Baoshan and Dali in western Yunnan Province, China. Once completed, the bridge will be one of the highest in world, sitting 271 m (889 ft) above the Lancang River. The bridge's main span will be 342 m (1,122 ft) making it also one of the longest arch bridges ever built. The bridge is expected to be completed in 2018.^[1]

Design

Instead of using cable stays and tiebacks to build the arch, the two steel truss arch halves were built vertically on either side of the canyon slopes on top of scaffolding. While still in a vertical position, the two halves were then lowered over the gorge where they were connected at the crown. The total length of the bridge is 698 meters.

Site

The site showcases three high spans including an older suspension bridge, the new railway bridge and an even higher pipeline suspension bridge that is the third-highest of its type in the world after the Hegigio Gorge Pipeline Bridge in Papua New Guinea and the Niouc Bridge in Switzerland.

The official height of the bridge is 271 meters, measured to the river's original surface. The construction of the Xiaowan Dam downstream created a reservoir that extends back under the bridge and raised the water level some 50 meters.

See also

• List of highest bridges in the world
• List of crossings of the Mekong River
• List of longest arch bridge spans

References