Key bridge of Yilai Expressway completes closure
2025-05-26 18:05:48
By Ma Yuhan
The final deck slab of the Chaibuxi Bridge was hoisted into place last Sunday, marking a major milestone in the construction of this key infrastructure project on the Yilai Expressway.
The final deck slab of the Chaibuxi Bridge was hoisted into place last Sunday, marking a major milestone in the construction of this key infrastructure project on the Yilai Expressway.
An aerial photo captures the closure of the Chaibuxi Bridge in Yichang.
Spanning 904 meters in length and 44.5 meters in width and towering nearly 300 meters above the valley, the Chaibuxi Bridge will become the world’s widest cable-stayed bridge, featuring I-shaped steel composite girders.
To minimize environmental impact, the deck is shared by both the Yilai Expressway and the G242 Highway, with four lanes of expressway on one side and two highway lanes on the other.
The Chaibuxi Bridge is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
“This design approach has saved about 280 million yuan (US$39 million) compared to building a separate bridge for the G242 Highway,” said Zhou Junshu, Deputy General Manager of Hubei Jiaotou Yichang Expressway Construction Management Co., Ltd.
However, the design created an asymmetrical main structure, shifting the gravity center and making construction more difficult.
To address this, the team used 152 cable stays, numerous deck slabs, and steel components, assembling them like building blocks to achieve balance and precise connection.
The Yilai Expressway stretches 187.7 kilometers between Yidu in Yichang and Laifeng County in Enshi and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once completed, travel time between Yichang and Enshi will be reduced from 3.5 hours to just 2 hours.
Ma Lin, Tanyang Chenlei also contributed to this story.
To address this, the team used 152 cable stays, numerous deck slabs, and steel components, assembling them like building blocks to achieve balance and precise connection.
The Yilai Expressway stretches 187.7 kilometers between Yidu in Yichang and Laifeng County in Enshi and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once completed, travel time between Yichang and Enshi will be reduced from 3.5 hours to just 2 hours.
Ma Lin, Tanyang Chenlei also contributed to this story.
