Qingdao bridge sets world record
By Xie Chuanjiao and Dai Yan | China Daily | Updated: 2011-07-01 07:59
QINGDAO, Shandong - The world's longest cross-sea bridge, spanning Jiaozhou Bay of Qingdao in East China's Shandong province, opened to traffic on Thursday amid a major effort to further consolidate this coastal city into an international shipping center for Northeast Asia.
The 41.58-km, eight-lane Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, connecting the urban district of the city to its Huangdao district, cost 14.8 billion yuan ($2.3 billion). Construction started in May 2007.
The bridge will shorten the route between the two centers by 30 km, cutting travel time from more than 40 minutes to about 20 minutes, said Han Shouxin, deputy director of the city's traffic management committee.
Previously, the longest cross-sea bridge in the world was the 36-km-long Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge that connects the cities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province.
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