New Delhi: Cutting travel time across the Huajiang Grand Canyon from two hours to just two minutes, China has inaugurated the world’s highest bridge in Guizhou. Standing 625 meters above the ground. The structure was completed over three years, spans 1,420 meters, and incorporates advanced engineering technologies.
The “faster than Maggi” reference comes from the instant noodles brand, which claims the noodles cook in about two minutes.
Spanning the border between Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Anshun City in Guizhou, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has reduced travel time between the two banks from two hours to two minutes, significantly improving regional connectivity and spurring economic and social development, Global Times reported
“The opening of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge reduces travel time between the two sides from two hours to two minutes,” Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transport department, said at a press conference.
“Its opening makes “enormous improvements to regional transportation conditions and (injects) new impetus into regional economic and social development,” AFP quoted her as saying.
The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is a part of the 190-kilometre-long Shantian-Puxi Expressway, designed to boost regional connectivity in southwestern China.
Rising 625 meters above a river and deep canyon in China’s mountainous southern province of Guizhou, the bridge has claimed the title of the world’s highest, surpassing the nearby Beipanjiang Bridge, which stands at 565 meters and now ranks second, according to an AFP report.
The four-lane has now set the record for both the world’s highest bridge and largest span bridge built in a mountainous area, with a total length of 2,890m, according to reports.
According to state news agency Xinhua, nearly 50 of the world’s 100 tallest bridges are situated in the province.
On Sunday morning, local officials and residents from various ethnic groups gathered on and near the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge for a ceremony marking its opening, China’s Global Times reported. Earlier this year in August, a testing team drove 96 trucks onto designated points to test the bridge’s structural integrity, the BBC reported.
