CHINESE OVERPASS

Forward-thinking engineers in China are the first in the country to have built a section of an enormous overpass and rotate it into place upon completion so as not to disturb the railways below. A 17,000 ton part of an elevated motorway was today slowly swung into place in Wuhan City after being constructed independently beside a high speed railway track. Engineers took 90 minutes to carefully swing the 17,000-ton structure into place today above a high speed railway track in Wuhan City, central China A China Railway High-speed train passes beneath the rotating sector of the bridge today as engineers expertly swivel it into place It was the first time the technique had been used in China, with engineers unable to temporarily halt the busy train service in order to build the bridge in place. Experts took 90 minutes to connect the section to the rest of the bridge, turning it 106 degrees on a 15 metre high axis. The country has the world’s longest high speed rail network with over 6,200 miles of routes in service in December 2012. The track beneath the bridge in Wuhan City was considered too important to be temporarily halted in order for engineers’ to complete construction. Once finished, the overpass will be 256m long and span 11 railways, including the 1,428 mile-long Beijing-Guangzhou service. Experts estimate the bridge will be open to traffic later this month. The 17,000 structure is slowly brought into place in by engineers after weeks of construction. The unusual technique has been used in the UK in the past, though never before in China. The 17,000-ton structure was rotated at 106 degrees on a 15 metre axis. The sector is connected to the rest of the bridge after 90 minutes. Officials estimate it will be open to traffic later this month A similar technique was used to construct the Grade I listed Kingsgate Bridge across the River Wear in Durham in 1968. Designed in 1963 by Sir Ove Arup, the bridge’s two halves were built on the river’s bank and swung together at 90 degrees. FOOTNOTE:

Compare the time normally taken for constructing bridges over railway lines in India with heavy railway movement – Bridge at Kurla station to connect Eastern Express to Western has taken more than 8 years!)