BEIJING: The world’s highest bridge has officially opened to traffic in China following a three-year construction period.
State media confirmed the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge now holds the record at 625 metres above the river below.
This new structure surpasses the previous record holder, the 565-metre Beipanjiang Bridge located in the same Guizhou province.
Drone footage broadcast on Sunday showed vehicles crossing the immense bridge with its blue support towers partially shrouded in clouds.
Project engineers and local officials gathered on the bridge for an opening ceremony, expressing pride during live interviews.
Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transport department, highlighted the bridge’s transformative impact on travel times.
“The opening of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge reduces travel time between the two sides from two hours to two minutes,“ she stated.
Zhang further emphasised the bridge’s broader significance for regional development during a press conference.
Its opening makes “enormous improvements to regional transportation conditions and (injects) new impetus into regional economic and social development”, she explained.
China has heavily invested in major infrastructure projects throughout its recent period of rapid economic growth.
Guizhou province features thousands of bridges, including both the current and former world’s highest bridges.
State news agency Xinhua reported that nearly half of the world’s 100 highest bridges are now located within Guizhou.
Construction of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge required more than three years to complete.
The bridge’s 1,420-metre main span also sets a record as the “world’s largest-span bridge built in a mountainous area”.
While it holds the height record above ground level, France’s Millau viaduct remains the tallest bridge structure itself at 343 metres. – AFP