Major Part of World's Longest Cross-Sea Bridge Constructed
The bridge links Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao.
A 6,000-ton key part of the world’s longest cross-sea bridge has been installed by Chinese engineers, according to a report. The bridge links Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao.
Lin Ming, chief engineer on the project, explained that a wedge was lowered to connect the tubes which will form the tunnel section of the bridge.
The bridge includes 22.9-km of bridge and 6.7-km of tunnel.
"There is only one wedge for a tunnel, and we cannot afford to fail in its installation. It took two years to prepare for today," said Chen Yue, director of the chief engineer's office of the bridge's island and tunnel section. The installation procedure took more than 10 hours.
A crane was used to hoist the wedge and lower it to the desired destination between the tubes.
"The margin of error for the wedge is 1.5 centimeters. We have to measure precisely the influence of wind, current and buoyancy force," said Lin. "It is like putting a needle through a hole in the sea -- a truly unprecedented event in the history of transportation."
The bridge is expected to be open by the end of the year for traffic.