Good News: The Pingtang Bridge and the Huayudong Bridge have both been awarded the First Prize of the “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award” by the China Highway Society in its inaugural edition.

Release time:

2022-09-17 13:56

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On September 16, the China Highway Society announced the list of winners for the 2022 “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award.” Two projects designed by Kan She Co., Ltd.—the Pingtang Bridge and the Huayudong Bridge—both won first prize.

To accelerate the building of a transportation powerhouse and vigorously implement an innovation-driven development strategy, thereby promoting technological and innovative advancements in China’s bridge engineering and enhancing the quality of bridge projects, from May to September 2022, the China Highway Society and the National Engineering Research Center for Long-Span Highway Bridges jointly organized the application and selection process for the 2022 “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award.” This marked the inaugural edition of the China Highway Society’s “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award.” This year, the China Highway Society’s “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award” received a total of 143 project applications, making the competition exceptionally fierce. After expert review and public announcement, two projects—Pingtang Bridge and Huayudong Bridge—ultimately stood out and both were awarded the first-ever “First Prize” of the China Highway Society’s “Bridge Engineering Innovation Award.” This award signifies that the bridge design and technological innovation capabilities of Kanshe Shares have received high recognition within the industry.

Introduction to the Pingtang Bridge

The Pingtang Bridge is a super-large bridge spanning the Caodu River Grand Canyon along the Pingluo Expressway. It’s a cable-stayed bridge with a composite steel-concrete girder and a double-cable-plane design, featuring three towers with a main span of 2 × 550 meters. The central tower stands at 332 meters high, setting a new world record for the tallest concrete bridge tower. Construction of the bridge began on April 29, 2016, and it was completed and opened to traffic on December 31, 2019. During the bridge’s design phase, in response to the structural requirements of the pylons, elements such as the unique costumes and dances of the local ethnic minorities were incorporated into the pylon’s architectural design. Ultimately, the “skirt-like” pylon shape was chosen, seamlessly integrating with the main girders and cables to create a highly dynamic overall bridge structure. In the construction process, new types of construction equipment were developed, and the innovative technique of longitudinally shifting and rotating entire segments of steel beams for suspended assembly was pioneered worldwide. The accompanying “Sky Bridge” sightseeing service area serves as a prime example of Guizhou’s integrated development of bridges and tourism, and has become a well-known Instagram-worthy hotspot in Guizhou. The Pingtang Bridge perfectly combines strength and beauty, harmoniously integrating people, the bridge itself, and the natural environment, making it a model masterpiece among canyon bridges worldwide.

Introduction to the Huayu Cave Bridge

The Huayu Cave Bridge is a super-large bridge spanning the Hongfeng Lake National Wetland Park and the drinking water source protection zone along National Highway G320. To enhance highway service levels and bridge capacity, on February 20, 2019, the original 150-meter-long prestressed concrete truss-composite arch bridge at its former location was demolished and replaced with a new 180-meter-long middle-supported steel tube concrete basket-handle arch bridge. The bridge was completed and opened to traffic on June 29, 2021. The project seamlessly integrated the demolition of the old bridge with the construction of the new one, creatively adopting the construction approach of "building a new arch on the site of the old bridge and then dismantling the old bridge after the new arch is in place." The new arch was positioned on either side of the old bridge; during construction, the new arch was first installed, and then the old bridge was suspended from it. The old bridge was subsequently cut section by section and carefully dismantled in reverse order, perfectly achieving the project’s goals of "zero pollution of the water source, zero disturbance to the scenic area, and reuse of waste materials." Like a beautiful rainbow spanning across the banks of Hongfeng Lake, the Huayu Cave Bridge stands as a prime example of “small but exquisite” canyon bridges.