World’s first double-decker cable-stayed suspension bridge for road, rail transport opens to traffic

The Tongling Yangtze River Third Bridge in East China's Anhui Province, the world's first double-decker cable-stayed and suspension bridge for both road and rail traffic, opened to traffic on Thursday, according to a report by local news outlet the Anhui Business Daily.

The construction of the bridge, which is the 11th to span the Yangtze River, was completed six months ahead of schedule. It has a total investment of 8.78 billion yuan ($1.21 billion). And the opening of the bridge will further improve the expressway networks of both the national and Anhui provincial systems, enhancing the traffic capacity of regional cross-river passages.

The bridge adopts a cable-stayed and suspension cooperative system with a main span of 988 meters, which "marks the world's first application of a cable-stayed and suspension cooperative system in a kilometer-class long-span steel truss girder bridge, ranking first globally in span among similar bridge types with separated public-rail layouts," the report said, quoting a project manager.

The system effectively leverages the suspension bridge's advantage of "spanning the river in a single leap" in order to minimize impact on navigation. The bridge also has a strong load-bearing capacity, which allows the main towers to be constructed on the riverbanks away from flood control levees, thereby effectively ensuring flood control safety, the report said.

The Tongling Yangtze River Third Bridge is one of the cross-river passages outlined in the Yangtze River Trunk Line Cross-River Channel Layout Plan (2020-2035). It is not only a key project implementing national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, but also a major infrastructure construction project in Anhui Province, according to the report.