Jiangjiehe Bridge

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Jiangjiehe Bridge
江界河大桥
Weng'an, Guizhou, China
840 feet high / 256 meters high
1,083 foot span / 330 meter span
1995

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Although it is nearly off the list of China’s 10 highest bridges, the 840 foot (256 mtr) high Jiangjiehe arch bridge was the highest bridge in the country and the highest concrete arch bridge in the world at the time of its opening in 1995. With a huge main span of 1,083 feet (330 meters), it is also among the world’s 5 longest concrete arch spans. Prior to 1995, the world’s highest concrete arch was the Bloukrans bridge in South Africa. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial bridge in front of the Hoover Dam near Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. is now the highest concrete arch bridge with a deck 890 feet (271 mtrs) above the Colorado river.

Located in Weng’an County, deep in the mountains of China’s Guizhou province, the Jiangjiehe arch bridge crosses the lower end of the Wujiang River, a large tributary of the Yangtze that has 3 of China’s highest bridges including the massive concrete beam bridge viaduct at the city of Wujiang and the Liuguanghe beam bridge northwest of Guiyang. The total Wujiang River high bridge count reaches 5 if you include the Ganxigou and Yanxigou bridges located on tributaries just off the “Big Wu”. Only the Beipanjiang River has a more spectacular group of high river crossings in China.

The current Jiangjiehe bridge is known as a concrete truss arch and was constructed using the cantilever method. This style of arch bridge has become very popular throughout China with its signature “N” shaped spandrel openings. Temperature related expansion and contraction of the road deck is allowed through a gap on either side of the center third of the bridge. As of 2008, China had more than 200 concrete arch bridges with spans in excess of 328 feet (100 mtrs).

With little traffic, ample parking and walkways on both sides of the bridge, the Jiangjiehe is one of the nicest, most relaxing bridge visits you can have in China. A fellow traveler of mine even felt comfortable enough to relieve himself off the side of the bridge - an act that might hold some kind of record of its own!


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Jiangjiehe Bridge Elevation


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


1JiangjieheBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


3JiangjieheBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


4JiangjieheBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


5JiangjieheBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


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Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com


9JiangjieheBridge.jpg

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

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