Building Achievements in a New Era, Striving Forward on a New Journey—Roads Section (Part 1)

Release time:

2022-10-22 13:52

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Editor's Note

As Qu Yuan wrote in his poem: “The road ahead is long and winding—yet I shall search high and low!” As Li Bai penned in his verse: “The Shu Road is so difficult, harder even than ascending to the blue sky!” And as Xunzi said: “Though the path may be obstructed and long, if you keep walking, you will eventually arrive.” Over the past 64 years, under the leadership of the great Communist Party of China, surveyors and designers have taken mountains as their companions and roads as their homes. With meticulous care and tireless effort, they have carefully laid out one grand avenue after another, forging a new chapter in mountain-road surveying and design.

Starting today, we will gradually launch “[Achieving Great Success in a New Era]” "Embarking on a New Journey"—a series of articles titled "A Detailed Look at Kanshe’s Road Projects," introducing Kanshe Shares’ outstanding survey and design works in recent years.

Duyun to Shangri-La Expressway (Guizhou Section): Duyun to Anshun Segment

Engineering Design for Contract Sections DASJ-2 and DASJ-5

Project Overview

The Duyun-Shangri-La Expressway (Guizhou Section), specifically the Duyun-Anshun segment, was fully completed and opened to traffic in June 2021. It is the only national expressway whose starting point is located within Guizhou Province. The highway has a total length of 276 kilometers, with a total estimated investment of approximately 43 billion yuan. This project represents the largest single infrastructure undertaking in Guizhou’s history of expressway construction.

Du'an Expressway has been selected as a model demonstration project for green highway construction by the Ministry of Transport, as well as one of the first batch of demonstration projects for BIM technology application in highways by the Ministry of Transport. It is also designated as a model project for quality engineering development in Guizhou Province and a key project promoted and implemented across the board by the Guizhou Provincial Department of Transportation for steel-structure bridges. This project serves as a comprehensive model demonstration for highway construction in Guizhou Province and a pioneering initiative driving the transformation and development of Guizhou’s transportation sector.

Duan'an Expressway Yunwu Section

The DASJ-2 and DASJ-5 design contract sections of the Du'an Expressway have a total length of 97.11 kilometers and traverse various landform types, including karst landforms, erosional landforms, and tectonic landforms. The terrain and geology are complex, with numerous controlling factors, presenting significant technical challenges throughout the survey and design process.

Technical Features

(1) Green highway design practices have achieved remarkable results.

The Du'an Expressway adheres to the five development concepts—innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and shared benefits—and carries out comprehensive, meticulous surveying and design. In the overall design, corridor zones are systematically utilized to conserve project land; route optimization design criteria are employed to minimize environmental damage. Subgrade designs favor low embankments and shallow excavations to further save land resources. Slope In protection efforts, green landscaping is adopted as a substitute for traditional masonry slope protection to enhance greening. Furthermore, integrated utilization of earth and rock materials is promoted to reduce waste disposal. In bridge design, the use of steel structures and self-compacting concrete technology is encouraged, and bridge coating designs are optimized to protect the environment and create aesthetically pleasing, harmonious landscape effects. Tunnel lighting employs LED luminaires with variable color temperatures and stepless dimming technology, achieving a 45% energy savings compared to conventional tunnel lighting systems. A green-plus-tourism service area has been developed to provide user-friendly passenger services. Segmental landscape development has been carried out successfully, resulting in the creation of the "Ten Scenic Spots of Duan," thereby enhancing the project's unique landscape appeal.

Duan'an Expressway, Machang Section

(2) Guizhou is the first province to fully implement BIM technology on expressways.

Based on the BIM model developed during the survey and design phase, the Du'an Expressway project has fully implemented BIM-based information technology in its project management, ultimately delivering a digital as-built model. By establishing a project information management system grounded in BIM technology, the project has achieved a collaborative management approach involving all stakeholders, thereby improving the current construction management processes. The comprehensive application of BIM throughout the entire project lifecycle has significantly enhanced both engineering design efficiency and management effectiveness.

(3) Set a new global record for the height of “H”-shaped bridge towers.

The Yunwu Bridge is a key control project of the Du'an Expressway. It spans the Laomian River and has a total length of 1,720 meters. The main span of the Yunwu Bridge is a 480-meter-long cable-stayed bridge featuring a combined beam structure with twin towers and twin cable planes. On the Anshun side, the bridge tower stands at 300 meters in height, ranking fourth globally among similar concrete towers and first in the world among “H”-shaped bridge towers. The design successfully overcame technical challenges related to the assembly and installation of steel structures in the complex mountainous terrain, thereby promoting the industrialized and prefabricated design approach for high-tower, long-span bridges in mountainous regions.

Cloud and Mist Bridge

Meaning and Effectiveness

The Du'an Expressway is the fastest highway route connecting key cities in southwestern China—such as Shangri-La, Xichang, Zhaotong, Liupanshui, and Anshun—to the Pearl River Delta economic zone. Its completion and opening to traffic not only enhance the layout of the national expressway network but also solidify Guizhou’s position as a land transportation hub in southwest China, transforming it from a regional geographic hub into a comprehensive land transportation center for the entire southwest region.

Relying on the Du'an Expressway, the company has obtained 15 patents, published 34 papers, and promoted the application of 22 of its own scientific research achievements. It also received the “Grand Prize of the 2020 Transportation BIM Engineering Innovation Award” from the China Highway Society and the “2022” award from the Guizhou Provincial Engineering Investigation and Design Association. First Prize, Guizhou Province Outstanding Survey and Design Award ”。