Colossal infrastructure construction taking place in the southwest of Nanjing is a step nearer to finally being complete, as a giant tunnel boring machine broke through yesterday; one of the major sections of the Nanjing Number 5 Bridge that enters operation by year end.
For the past 5 months, the shield tunneling machine “New Era” has been digging its way under the Yangtze River, at depths of up to 70 metres. Having begun its journey on the isle of Jiangxinzhou, New Era yesterday broke through under the Youth Olympic No. 3 Park, so that it may connect up with existing sections of the vast underground road complex.
Shield Machine Head in the Mechanical and Electrical Department of China Railway No. 14 Bureau, Hu Xiaoqing, told Nanjing Daily reporters of the many difficulties encountered during the tunneling. Hu specifically described one part as “exciting”, when the tunnel machine bore to within 81 cm of the foundations for the Nanjing Eye observation platform.
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The Jiajiang Tunnel takes its name from the river under which it passes, that slim portion of the Yangtze between Hexi and Jiangxinzhou.
Overall, the gigantic project consists of the main bridge across the river, the Jiajiang Tunnel on the southern side and the connection in Jiangbei New Area to the north. The total length of the project is 10.335 kilometres, including the 1,159-metre shield tunnel; it’s 15-metre diameter making it the largest underwater shield road tunnel under construction in China.
As for the bridge itself, the hoisting of the penultimate box girder for the central tower was also carried out yesterday, while it is expected that the main span of the bridge will be closed next month.
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For Nanjing residents who rely on the inner ring road as it circles around Fengtai Nan Lu, the last 2 years have been marked by daily gridlock, as the road is reconfigured for its new role that links it up with Nanjing’s fifth bridge across the Yangtze. Until then, the ring road more or less peters out around the Fengtai Nan Lu exit, becoming instead the highway to nearby Ma’anshan in Anhui Province.
Nanjing first bridged the Yangtze River in 1968 and there remained this one crossing until 2001, when Nanjing Number 2 Bridge opened, then the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Number 3 Bridge, another cable-stayed effort, opened in 2005 followed by Number 4 in 2012, a huge suspension bridge that completed the Nanjing outer ring road. Nanjing Number 5 Bridge will complete the city’s inner ring road.
