Workers started work on the first pile foundation for a rail-road bridge over Haitan Strait in eastern Fujian province on May 16.

The pile foundation is being installed on the Renyu islet near Changle county, the starting point of the Pingtan Haixia Rail-Road Bridge linking Changle and Pingtan.

Workers are also building a trestle bridge and an offshore operation platform nearby to accommodate the construction of the bridge.

Hammering pile foundations in the sea will be especially difficult in Haitan Strait, given its complicated geographical and weather conditions such as gales, deep water, strong waves and currents, according to workers.

The construction has adopted Haili 801, a world-class pile driver for construction of the bridge. It will use more powerful equipment such as a top-head drive drill, automatic climbing formwork as well as Asia’s largest heavy lift vessel with a capability of 3,600 tons.

Background

The Pingtan Haixia Rail-Road Bridge, linking Songxia Port and Dalian Island, will measure 11.15 kilometers and will form the main part of a cross-sea railway. It is designed in two layers. The upper level will include a two-way six-lane highway, and the lower level will feature a double-track railway.

The cross-sea rail, which is part of the 88-km Fuzhou-Pingtan railway, will span a distance of about 16.32 km. It will start from Songxia Port in Changle city, stretch southeast over the Yuanhong channel, the Guyumen channel, Changyu Island, Xiaolian Island, the Xiaolian-Dalian island channel, Dalian Island, Haitan Strait, and finally reach Pingtan Island.

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