Yanxigou Bridge

Yanxigou Bridge
沿溪沟大桥
Pengshui, Chongqing, China
(650) feet high / (198) meters high
492 foot span / 150 meter span
2009

Yanxigou is a short but spectacular prestressed concrete beam bridge that jumps over a deep gash with walls so steep there is little room for foliage to grow. Scheduled to open in 2009, the Yanxigou is one of three high bridges on the new Seexpressway, a 4-lane highway that will connect the city and municipality of Chongqing with Hunan Province. Roughly following the path of the Wujiang river, the route is one more “spoke” in a hub of highways that radiate out from Chongqing - the largest inland river port and Western China’s most populous city.

The Yanxigou bridge is located near its higher and larger gorge-busting brother the Ganxigou as well as the Ganxigou #2. The 3-span prestressed concrete beam bridge has a central span of 492 feet (150 mtrs) and a total length of 1,017 feet (310 mtrs).

The Wu River is one of the world’s greatest high bridge waterways with 3 bridges over 500 feet (152 mtrs) in height crossing it in different areas before it finally empties into the Yangtze River at the city of Fuling.  The first came in 1995 when the 840 foot (256 mtr) high Jiangjiehe arch bridge opened near Weng’an.  In 2001, the Liuguanghe bridge opened across the Wujiang’s upper reaches near Guiyang with a 975 foot (297 mtrs) high deck that is still the world’s highest among beam bridges.  In 2008 a massive concrete beam bridge viaduct opened at the city of Wujiang.  The total bridge count reaches 6 if you include the Ganxigou #1 and #2 and Yanxigou bridges located on tributaries just off the Wujiang.  Only the Beipanjiang River has a more spectacular group of high river crossings in China.

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Yanxigou Bridge Elevation

沿溪沟大桥是一座短但是很壮观的预应力混凝土梁桥，跃过一道深壑，其悬崖十分陡峭以至于在崖壁上根本就没有植物存在。预计2009年通车的沿溪沟大桥是新建的渝湘高速公路上两座高桥之一，渝湘高速是一条连接着重庆直辖市和湖南省的四车道高速公路。基本沿着乌江水系的小路，这条高速公路是以重庆为中心向外辐射的高速路轮转上的又一条“辐条”，重庆则是最大的内陆港口以及中国西部地区人口最多的城市。

沿溪沟大桥位于其更高更大的峡谷大桥兄弟干溪沟一号桥附近。该桥3跨预应力混凝土梁式结构，主跨150米，总高度达310米。

乌江，在重庆涪陵终汇入长江之前，是世界上拥有3座超过152米高度跨越其上的水系之一。第一座跨越乌江的是1995年建成的、贵州省瓮安县的江界河大桥（拱桥），高256米。2001年六广河大桥开通，位于贵阳上有方向的乌江流域，高度297米，至今仍然是世界最高的梁桥。2008年，在贵州的乌江市建成了另一座巨大的混凝土梁桥。如果把位于乌江支流流域的干溪沟大桥和沿溪沟大桥也列于乌江水系的话，那么乌江上的高桥数量就达到了5座。在中国仅仅只有北盘江上拥有者更多的高桥数量。

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