Good News | The Lüzhujiang Bridge on the Yunnan-Yuchu Expressway has been awarded the “Best Construction Innovation Nomination” by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.

Release time:

2023-11-09 11:14

Source:

On the evening of November 8, local time, at the 2023 Awards Ceremony of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) held in Zurich, Switzerland, the Lüzhijiang Bridge on the Yuxi to Chuxiong Expressway in Yunnan Province—designed by Kan She Co., Ltd.—was awarded the IABSE “Award for Innovation in Construction—Finalist.”

IABSE Awards Ceremony Venue

Since 2000, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) has been presenting the “Outstanding Structure Award,” which is specifically dedicated to recognizing the world’s most innovative bridge or structural engineering projects. This year, IABSE has divided the award into seven categories, one of which is the Construction Innovation Award—intended to honor entities that have achieved remarkable project results by leveraging new materials, products, methods, or equipment in their construction innovations. The Lüzhijiang Bridge has been nominated for the “Best Construction Innovation Award,” marking international recognition of KanShe Co., Ltd.’s technological innovation achievements.

The Lüzhijiang Bridge Receives the IABSE “Best Construction Innovation Nomination Award” Certificate

The Lüzhujiang Bridge is a key project on the Yuxi-Chuxiong Expressway in Yunnan Province. Spanning the Lüzhujiang Gorge, it is the world’s first single-tower steel-box-girder suspension bridge, with a main span of 780 meters and a total bridge length of 813 meters. The bridge was completed and opened to traffic on August 26, 2022.

The Lüzhijiang Bridge project is fundamentally rooted in the integration of environmental and functional requirements. It employs an elegant and unique single-tower suspension bridge structure, achieving a perfect harmony between the engineering solution and the ecological environment in a creative manner. The project’s pioneering innovations—including a new maintenance-free composite cable saddle, an H-shaped specially designed stiffening girder, a zero-excavation construction method for steep slopes, and a comprehensive set of technologies for preventing rockfalls—demonstrate the builders’ distinctive engineering ingenuity. By adopting an approach that safeguards the ecosystem, the project has broken through the engineering barriers to constructing bridges in high-altitude, precipitous cliffs, thereby maximizing the protection of the natural landforms and wildlife resources in the Lüzhijiang Gorge and realizing a harmonious integration among people, the bridge, and the natural environment.

The completion of the Lüzhijiang Bridge has greatly improved transportation conditions in remote areas and boosted economic development in local ethnic minority regions, making it a landmark structure in the area. It represents an engineering marvel—a bridge built into sheer cliffs—and marks a significant advancement in bridge-construction technology for mountainous canyons.