Soaring into the clouds and spanning a staggering 2,890 metres – this epic bridge isn’t for the faint-hearted. Almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower (625 meters above river level), this ambitious infrastructure project has been in the works for three and a half years.
This June, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, located in China’s Guizhou Province, will finally open to the public. Weighing a whopping 22,000 tons, the huge steel truss suspension bridge doesn’t just look impressive but will become a crucial lifeline for residents.
Currently, those wanting to cross the Huajiang Grand Canyon, also known as the ‘Earth crack’, have to endure a two-hour drive through steep winding mountains. Once the bridge opens, this once-gruelling trek will take a mere 60 seconds.
Reported to have cost a staggering £216 million, the bridge will also help increase connectivity between cities and be a huge boost for businesses currently facing pricey transportation costs. It will also create economic integration in one of China’s most isolated regions.
“At present, the overall progress of the bridge has reached 95 per cent, and it is planned to be opened to traffic in the second half of 2025,” Zhang Shenglin, chief engineer of Guizhou Highway Group, told the state-run newspaper China Daily. “By then, this super project that spans the ‘earth crack’ will be the world’s first in both directions.”
Zhang added that the ‘landmark project’ will further demonstrate China’s advanced ‘infrastructure strength’. Currently, nearly half of the top 100 tallest bridges in the world are in Guizhou, which is some 800 miles near the city of Shenzhen.
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The Huajiang Grand Canyon will outrank the Beipanjiang Bridge, also known as the Duge Bridge, by almost 100 metres. Located on the border between the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan in China, this cable-stayed bridge crosses over the Beipan River and was the first of its kind to ever surpass 500 metres in height.
The dizzying bridge opened to drivers on December 29, 2016, and consists of four lanes – meaning you can overtake slow coaches while travelling through the clouds. Similar to the Huajiang Grand Canyon bridge, the Beipanjiang Bridge cut links between the river valley from 50 minutes down to two.
As previously reported, construction cost more than one billion Yuan (more than £111 million if converted today) and took around three and a half years of ‘intense’ work. If China continues ramping up its infrastructure, this iconic bridge may soon fall from the league tables altogether.
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