On December 26, the Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway (hereinafter referred to as Fuping Railway) will be put into operation. China’s first cross-sea road-rail bridge and the world’s longest cross-strait road-rail bridge-Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge welcomes Come fully open to traffic.
Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway.
Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
The Fuping Railway leads from Fuzhou Station and passes through the Changle District of Fuzhou City to the southeast. It crosses the Haitan Strait to Pingtan Island by a bridge. The length of the line is 88 kilometers, and the fastest distance from Fuzhou to Pingtan is 35 minutes.
Schematic diagram of Fuping railway route.
Picture from China Railway
The Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge is a key control project of the Fuping Railway and the first road-rail bridge in China.
The bridge starts from Songxia Town, Changle District, Fuzhou City, passes through Renyu Island, Changyu Island, Xiaolian Island, and Dalian Island, and connects to Pingtan Island in Suao Town. It is 16.34 kilometers long, of which the cross-sea section exceeds 11 kilometers.
Pingtan is only 68 nautical miles away from the main island of Taiwan. The long-term plan for Fuping Railway can be extended to Taiwan, which is of great significance for promoting cross-strait economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges.
This also means that the place where the mainland is closest to the main island of Taiwan is connected by railway.
The bridge was designed by China Railway Bridge Institute and contracted by China Railway Bridge Bureau.
The upper layer of the bridge is a two-way six-lane highway with a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour, which has been opened for trial operation on October 1, 2020; the lower layer is a two-track railway with a design speed of 200 kilometers per hour, which will be opened and operated simultaneously with the Fuping Railway.
Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway.
Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
wind! wind! wind!
The location of the bridge is one of the world's three major wind vents, which are as famous as Bermuda and the Cape of Good Hope. It has strong winds, high waves, high water depths, and complex seabed geological conditions. The effective operation time is short. The technical challenges and construction risks faced by engineering construction far exceed those in China. Other cross-bay bridges built or under construction.
Now, when driving on the bridge, you can see that high wind barriers are installed on both sides of the road and the railway.
Aerial photography of Pingtan Strait Highway Bridge on Fuping Railway.
Photo by Hu Peng
"These wind barriers are important projects to ensure the safe driving of cars and trains." Xiao Shibo, executive deputy manager of the Pingtan Strait Highway Bridge Project of China Railway Bridge Bureau, introduced that the location of the bridge is one of the world's three major wind outlets. In non-typhoon conditions, there are gusts. May reach level 10 or above.
The wind barrier can effectively reduce the wind, and the level 6 wind passes through it, and generally only the strength of the level 3 wind on the bridge.
Pang Xiaojun, deputy manager of the project department of the Fuping Railway Third Standard and Third Division of China Railway Bridge Bureau, has participated in the construction of major projects such as the Sunkou Yellow River Bridge on the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, the Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge, and the Fourth Nanjing Bridge.
He said frankly, "But like Pingtan, there are harsh environments such as strong wind, high waves, deep water, rapid currents, and hard rock.
The picture shows a bird's-eye view of the Pingtan Strait Bridge.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Dongming
He recalled that in January 2015, during the construction of the drilling platform for the S03 pier of the main pier of Pingtan Bridge, it was the coldest weather in the strait. The average monthly wind speed was above 8 and the waves were as high as 5 meters. The construction is very difficult, and sometimes the steel pipe piles that have just been drilled are washed out the next morning.
Qian Linlin, a 46-year-old Jiangxi native, was the pioneer in the construction of the bridge. He grew up in the countryside and spent his entire life running on the construction site. For him, survival on deserted islands is not a big deal. Cobras and rats are no surprise, and the most intolerable It's the windy weather here.
The "tonnage" of more than 170 kilograms, but often unstable in the strong wind.
On November 16, 2013, Yang Dangguo, the project manager of the Third Standards and Third Division of the Fuping Railway of China Railway Bridge Bureau, took the first group of 15 people on a small fishing boat from Matsushita Ferry to Pingtan Xiaolian Island.
He clearly remembered: "At that time, in November, it was the monsoon season again. The sea was full of strong winds of about tenth magnitude. When we first came to the island, we rented a small local fishing boat and ate with luggage. As a result, it was the monsoon season on the first day. After the waves hit, the entire quilt was wet, and the food materials, including some tableware, were also flooded with sea water."
Not only is the monsoon, but there are at least 5 typhoons every year.
The first typhoon after landing on the island moved the container that Yang Dangguo and the others had spent three or four days to build 30 meters, and the necessities of life were blown into the sea.
Yang Dangguo said, "At that time, we lacked knowledge of typhoons, water and electricity were cut off, and our living reserves were insufficient. At that time, we were starving and freezing. Everyone was hiding in the school and was afraid to go out in such a strong wind."
Data map: On April 29, aerial photographs of the road-rail dual-use bridge under construction in Pingtan Strait, Fujian.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Dongming
The location of the Pingtan Strait Highway and Railway Bridge has the characteristics of strong wind, high waves, deep water and rapid currents.
According to statistics, there are more than 300 days of strong winds above level 6 and 200 days of strong winds above level 7 each year.
In addition, on average, typhoons make landfall 3 to 4 times a year, and the maximum wave height is about 9.69 meters.
In addition, the tidal range here is up to 7 meters, and the flow velocity is fast, especially the influence of wave force, which is more than 10 times that of conventional inland river bridges such as the Yangtze River, which has a great impact on the water structure.
Miracles in the "bridge construction restricted zone"
“The harsh weather conditions and complex hydrogeological conditions made this place once known as the'bridge construction restricted area'.” Wang Donghui, chief engineer of the Pingtan Strait Highway Bridge Project of China Railway Bridge Bureau, recalled that at the beginning of the construction stage, they encountered one The big problem-when the first steel pipe pile was driven into the hard rock bed about 1 meter deep, it was squeezed and severely deformed.
It turns out that the strait winds that have lasted for thousands of years have driven the sea swells to wash away the loose rock formations on the seabed, leaving bare slate with a hardness comparable to steel, plus the lurking hard boulders. The complex rock formations made the bridge foundation nowhere to be laid.
Data map: The picture shows the vehicle driving on the bridge highway.
Photo by Wang Dongming
China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. insists on independent innovation, exerts the joint force of industry, university and research, and has achieved a series of innovative results, providing important technical support for the safe, high-quality and efficient construction of the bridge project.
include:
Independently developed a large-scale hydraulic power head drilling rig, which can drill 5m diameter bored piles at a time, successfully constructing the bridge engineering pile with the largest pile diameter in the world;
Independently developed a huge floating crane with a hoisting height of 110 meters and a hoisting weight of 3,600 tons, and proposed a factory-based, full-hole, all-welded manufacturing process for simply supported steel truss beams to realize the entire-hole erection of steel truss beams on the sea;
Study and establish a small-scale wind, wave, and current monitoring and forecast system at the bridge site, formulate environmental standards for bridge construction operations, and ensure safe and orderly operations under complex marine meteorological conditions...
Wang Donghui told reporters from China News Agency that in addition to independently researching and developing the world's most advanced KTY5000 hydraulic power head drilling rig, engineers have completed nearly 5 meters of bored piles, which can be called "Dinghai Shenzhen".
It also developed steel pipe piles like "small benches", which were "sticked" to rocks on the seabed with concrete, and then expanded the "small benches" into a construction platform the size of a seven-a-side football field, enough for more than 600 staff. At the same time work and live on the platform.
Data map: On September 25, with the precise connection of the 473-ton steel truss girder, the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Dual-purpose Bridge Guyumen Channel Bridge was successfully closed, marking the world’s longest and China’s first cross-strait road bridge. The iron dual-purpose bridge runs through.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Bin
Daguo Heavy Equipment helps fill the technological gap
“The windy weather at the construction site is very frequent. According to the national regulations, lifting and other operations must be stopped for winds of level 6 or above. In addition, the normal construction cannot be performed for a few days before and after each typhoon, our effective working time is actually very precious. "Wang Donghui introduced.
In order to overcome the harsh natural environment and make full use of the construction "window period" in the windy environment, in the girder erection stage, the bridge construction is first made in the factory as a whole assembly of steel truss beams, and then shipped from Rugao, Jiangsu Province to the bridge for about 1,000 kilometers. At the location, the whole hole erection of the floating crane on the sea is carried out on the spot.
How difficult is the whole hole erection of the floating crane at sea?
You can imagine with these data:
The heaviest steel truss of the bridge is 96.25 meters long and 36.8 meters wide, which is equivalent to 8 basketball courts;
The height is 15.35 meters, which is equivalent to 5 floors; the design weight is 3150 tons, and the lifting weight of the spreader is nearly 3400 tons, which is equivalent to the weight of 2,260 cars.
The location of the bridge is one of the world's three major wind vents, which are as famous as Bermuda and the Cape of Good Hope. It has strong winds, high waves, high water depths, and complicated seabed geological conditions. The effective operation time is short. The engineering construction faces huge technical challenges and construction risks.
Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
In order to reduce the safety risk of offshore construction, China Railway Bridge Bureau lasted 3 years and spent hundreds of millions to build the "Bridge Seagull" self-propelled double-boom luffing crane vessel with a lifting capacity of 3,600 tons and a lifting height of the main hook. 110 meters-equivalent to 39 stories high.
This is the double-boom crane ship with the largest lifting capacity and the highest lifting height in China, and it can be called the "big Mac" and "super Hercules" in the construction of sea bridges.
"Daqiao Seagull" self-propelled double boom luffing crane vessel.
Photo courtesy of China Railway Bridge Bureau
In order to catch the "skylight point" in the windy weather, China Railway Bridge Bureau has independently developed a comprehensive environmental monitoring system based on national and local forecasts to monitor the weather and sea conditions in the sea area of the bridge site in real time.
Liu Ke, deputy chief engineer of the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge Project of China Railway Bridge Bureau, introduced to a reporter from China News Agency that the location of the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge is complex, with frequent winds and waves, and the “skylight point” suitable for construction is fleeting. We need us Predict scientifically in advance.
However, the national and local weather and ocean forecasts cover a very wide range, and it is difficult to accurately reach the bridge site. There are often heavy rains on the Changle bank, but only cloudy on the Pingtan bank. This brings us a lot of on-site construction scheduling. Big trouble.
"
According to on-site operation requirements, China Railway Bridge Bureau arranged 5 anemometers, 2 wave meters, and 1 current meter along the bridge to monitor the wind environment, wave elements, and ocean currents at the bridge site in real time. At the same time, it uses the cloud computing center to make a display page , Real-time release of various monitoring data.
Data map: The highway section of the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge, which has entered the tail-off stage, has the conditions for opening to traffic.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Bin
The Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge is 16.34 kilometers long and starts in Songxia Town, Changle City, Fujian Province.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Bin
"Before this, the domestic monitoring of wind, waves and currents on cross-sea bridges in complex sea areas and the in-situ test of large-scale structure wave forces were almost blank, and there was little experience to learn from." Liu Ke said, "In these 7 years We have accumulated a lot of data through on-site measurements and numerical simulations. Wind and wave prediction methods can also be applied to bridge construction areas that are significantly affected by local sites, such as wind speed forecasts in mountainous valleys."
The Pingtan Strait Railway Bridge is a milestone in the history of Chinese bridge construction.
This flying rainbow on the sea is worthy of our pride, and the silhouettes of this group of craftsmen from great countries are worth remembering!
"Seven years of effort, I think it's all worth it at this moment." Zhang Hongxin, deputy general manager of China Railway Bridge Bureau, looked at the bridge and couldn't help feeling.
The closing ceremony of the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge was held.
Photo by Zhang Bin
The artisans behind the Pingtan Strait Road-Rail Bridge.
China Railway Bridge Bureau provides video screenshots
Go, let us take the train bound for Pingtan, cross the Pingtan Strait Highway and Railway Bridge, and drive into China in 2021.
Text: Long Min, Lin Chunyin Pictures: Wang Dongming, Zhang Bin not signed pictures, thanks to China Railway Nanchang Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway Bridge Bureau