Weijiazhou Bridge
Weijiazhou Bridge
chinesename
Gaojiayan, Hubei, China
686 feet high / 209 meters high
656 foot span / 200 meter span
2009
The first in an astonishing group of high bridges on the Yichang to Enshi portion of the West Hurongxi Highway, the Weijiazhou bridge opened in 2009 as one of China’s highest and most spectacular beam bridges. Located near the city of Yichang, the bridge is near the beginning of a 300 mile (483 km) link of a 1,350 mile (2,175 km) long highway that now connects Shanghai on the Pacific coast with the cities of Chongqing and Chengdu in the west. The 4-lane engineering marvel is home to Siduhe, the world’s highest suspension bridge and Zhijinghe, the highest roadway arch bridge in the world. It also has more than half a dozen other bridges that exceed 500 feet (150 meters) in height including Mashuihe and Longtanhe, the world’s 2 highest beam bridge viaducts. This more direct route bypasses one of the toughest and most mountainous stretches of the Yangtze river. What once took more than a day of travel on dangerous mountain roads or a Yangtze river boat can now be safely traversed in 5 hours.
The Weijiazhou bridge is very similar to the Yesanhe bridge located some 60 miles (100 kms) to the west on the same highway. Both are continuous rigid-frame bridges with a main span of 656 feet (200 meters) across a precipitously deep canyon requiring one of the piers be situated on a slope of approximately 60 degrees. For Weijiazhou, the piers extend 354 feet (108 meters) from the top of the foundation to the underside of the box girder.
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com
