"Bridge Spirit" Works Miracles: From the First Bridge to the Arterial Network on the Yangtze River

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in Black and White Images. (data map) Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
(70 years of new China) The "bridge spirit" creates miracles: from the first competitive bridge to the "artery" network on the Yangtze River.
Zhongxin. com, Nanjing, September 25 th: The "bridge spirit" creates miracles: from the first competitive bridge to the "artery" network on the Yangtze River (reporter Shen Ran)
On September 20, 2019, the world’s first cable-stayed bridge with a main span exceeding 1,000 meters — — The Hutong Yangtze River Bridge is closed, and Chinese builders have once again broken the bridge construction record.
From the time before liberation, there was no bridge on the Yangtze River, to the first bridge after the founding of New China, and now there are dozens of river-crossing channels, the record of super bridges in New China has been refreshed again and again on the Yangtze River.

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, the bridge deck of which was recently opened to traffic. (data map) Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
Anchorage: the first competitive bridge in new China
In January 1959, Luo Binfeng, a 23-year-old rural boy from Hubei Province, stood by the Yangtze River in Nanjing for the first time, but he didn’t expect that nine years later, the first river-crossing bridge built by Chinese himself stood — — Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.
In 1927, the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River was declared by American bridge experts as "not qualified for bridge construction".
Shortly after the founding of New China, the river-crossing bridge was immediately put on the schedule of the national name project, and on January 18, 1960, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was officially started.

On September 20, 2019, the world’s first cable-stayed bridge with a main span of over 1,000 meters — — Hutong Yangtze River Bridge is fully closed. Photo by Luo Bo
Since the bridge started construction, every problem encountered is new … … Both engineers and bridge builders are "holding back the strength that they must succeed."
Luo Binfeng, who is 83 years old this year, still remembers the critical situation that happened on September 28th, 1964. At that time, it was a critical period to conquer the positioning of No.4 and No.5 deep-water piers in the center of the river. The sudden flood peak of the Yangtze River first scraped off the positioning anchor rope of No.5 pier, and ten days later, the anchor rope of No.4 pier was also broken. After more than 30 days of desperate struggle, all the staff finally stabilized the giant floating objects in the middle of these two rivers.

Zhou Shizhong, deputy commander of Jiangyin Bridge and then deputy director of Jiangsu Provincial Communications Department, was at the construction site. Photo courtesy of interviewee
"The following pier caisson sealing must be done quickly." As an ordinary concrete worker, Luo Binfeng stuck to the pier day and night. "The back cover requires that a 6-meter-high bottom plate must be poured at one time, which means that the workers in six classes work in three shifts and need to work nonstop for two days and two nights. When the meal arrives, there is a boat to send the food to the platform in the middle of the river, eat two bites with the cold wind, and when you are sleepy, you will squat for a while. "
The underwater foundation of the bridge is a "hard bone", and the "skeleton" on the water is not simple. At the age of 24, Chang Rongwu was assigned to work in the design team of Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Headquarters. At that time, he was a young engineer who had just graduated from university. The biggest problem he encountered was the massive bridge structure data that could not be calculated manually.
"The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge can be said to be the first bridge in China to use modern electronic computers." Chang Rongwu told the reporter that the design of the steel beam of the bridge body was statically indeterminate n times, and it was almost impossible to complete the massive data of its safety monitoring if it was calculated by hand. Finally, it was approved to use the only large-scale electronic computer in the country at that time. Although it could be calculated in less than an hour, it was necessary to queue up in Beijing for more than half a month every time, and it was necessary to get back several boxes of paper tapes typed by computers and check the results of the computers centimeter by centimeter.

Jiangyin bridge under construction. Photo courtesy of interviewee
"Fortunately, after ‘ Computer ’ Precision calculation, we ‘ Human brain ’ The assumed mechanical model of the bridge is confirmed to be reasonable and accurate. " Chang Rongwu laughed.
It is this innovative spirit of "self-reliance and facing difficulties" that inspired thousands of builders to unite as one, and finally built the river-crossing bridge, a national landmark, which has since become the "confidence" for generations of builders to cross thousands of dangers.

On the eve of National Day in 1968, young engineer Chang Rongwu stood at the bridgehead of Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge before it was opened to traffic. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Leaping: A Bridge Miracle Created by Chinese
In the 1980s, the demand for river-crossing transportation in the Yangtze River Delta region began to show. After the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, it is not only the people but also the local government’s urgent idea to build more river-crossing passages. The second river-crossing bridge in Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River — — Jiangyin Bridge was started in 1994.
As a result of the reform and opening up period, the construction of this landmark bridge is also a special case of inviting multinational experts to consult in the transportation field for the first time after the founding of New China.

It continuously broke through the Runyang Bridge with the largest span, the largest anchorage and the largest deep foundation pit in China at that time. Photo by Luo Bo
Zhou Shizhong, deputy commander of Jiangyin Bridge and then deputy director of Jiangsu Provincial Communications Department, said frankly that as the first super-large suspension bridge with a span of more than 1,000 meters in China, "there were no standardized technical standards before construction, from the early stage of the project to the construction, from the engineering design to the specific construction, every step can be said to be crossing the river by feeling the stones."
With the help of experts at home and abroad, during the construction of Jiangyin Bridge, not only the technical standard of the first long-span suspension bridge in China was established, but it is still used today; At the same time, in order to solve the wind resistance of super-long bridges, Chinese builders also creatively designed ultra-thin streamlined bridge decks.

The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, which has been opened to traffic for 50 years, overlooks the great changes on both sides of the south and north of the Yangtze River. Photo by Luo Bo
"The bridge deck is 36 meters wide, and the bridge deck beam is only 3 meters at the highest, and the aspect ratio is close to 1/12. This ratio was finally determined after dozens of different wind tunnel tests." Zhou Shizhong recalled.
With the continuous breakthrough of bridge construction technology in China, Runyang Bridge, which started in the Millennium, has become another peak of technical innovation of Chinese builders: it broke the "eight firsts" such as the largest span, the largest anchorage and the largest deep foundation pit in China at that time.
However, the dilemma it faces is unprecedented. "In order to hold the tension of tens of thousands of tons of the main cable of Runyang Bridge, the anchorage foundation pit on the north and south banks of Runyang Bridge is a super deep pit with a plane of more than 9 and a half basketball courts and an excavation depth of tens of meters. What is even more stressful is that less than 100 meters away from the foundation pit is Taotao River. When the foundation pit is dug, it is in the flood season of the Yangtze River. Once deformation and leakage occur, it means that the whole foundation pit will be flooded by the river, and it is difficult for people in the pit to escape. " Until today, Jilin, the chief engineer of Runyang Bridge, still feels scared when he recalls this past.

Towering bridges across the Yangtze River at sunset. Photo by Luo Bo
In order to let the workers work in the foundation pit with peace of mind, the project manager of the north anchorage construction of Runyang Bridge jumped out of the foundation pit first, moved a small stool and sat on the construction site until the construction was over. He became the "anchor needle" in the minds of workers. The project manager who is famous for his "small stool" is Lin Ming, the chief engineer of China Jiaojian who later built the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
At present, the Dankun Bridge, the world’s longest bridge, the Sutong Bridge, which created four of the world’s best when it was completed, and the Taizhou Bridge &hellip, which won the excellent structural engineering award of the International Bridge Association; …
If we overlook the wide river surface in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from the air, modern bridges of various shapes span at intervals, like an endless "arterial network", connecting countless vigorous economic "engines" in the north and south of the Yangtze River.

Nanjing Dashengguan Railway Bridge was the world’s first six-line railway bridge and the longest span high-speed railway bridge when it was completed. Photo by Luo Bo
"It is precisely because of the complex geographical environment and different construction conditions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River that it inspires us to continuously build super bridges with richer forms, better quality and more innovation." In Zhou Shizhong’s view, the source of this kind of hard work comes from the "bridge spirit" of "self-reliance and hard work".
Chang Rongwu, who is nearly 77 years old, often recalls that on the eve of the National Day in 1968, he had just worked continuously from the bridge site for a month, and looked at the bridge that was about to usher in the opening ceremony, with tears in his eyes. "The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was the most difficult time in new China, which made everyone feel that nothing could not be done as long as they were United."























