The bridge, connecting urban Qingdao with the city's less-developed district of Huangdao, costs 14.8 billion yuan (USD 2.3 billion). It is created with the intent to boost the development of an industrial zone in Huangdao and to facilitate the rise of foreign trade by increasing the port''s handling capacity.
It will ease the complaints by the business community of the inconvenience of the current, less-efficient sea transport, whose operation is at the mercy of the weather. The bridge will shorten the route between Huangdao and urban Qingdao by 30 km, cutting the travel time down from over 40 minutes to around 20 minutes.
Before its completion, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge that spans across the bay of Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, was considered the world''s longest cross-sea bridge.
Qingdao officials also announced the completion of a 9.47-kilometer-long undersea tunnel that runs parallel to the bridge. The construction of the tunnel, whose lowest part is located 81 metres below sea level, cost another 7 billion yuan. This bridge has its own uniqueness and characteristics, truly serves its users to the utmost.
The construction of this project began in August 2007. It took slightly less than 4 years to complete and supported by more than 5,000 pillars. According to Zhou Fengjun, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the engineers overcame huge difficulties in building the tunnel amid a complicated geological environment. This is another illustration to prove that we can deliver whatever our minds conceive and believe in.
WORLD'S LONGEST CROSS -SEA BRIDGE
