China has opened the world's highest bridge, and it didn’t come with the price tag many would expect. TheHuajiang Canyon Bridgeopened to the public on September 18 and spans a vast mountain gorge in south-westChina.
It cost 2.1billion Chinese renminbi to build, which is roughly £216million – surprisingly cheap, given its record-breaking scale. The bridge stretches across the Beipan River inGuizhou Province, an area known for its rugged terrain and deep valleys. Before it existed, travelling between nearby regions meant navigating winding mountain roads or relying on ferries, with journeys reportedly taking two hours.
Today, the journey across the river takesjust two minutes.
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Compared to some of the world's other megaprojects, the bridge was built on quite a modest budget.
The Queensferry Crossing, for example, which is the UK's tallest bridge, cost about £1.35billion to build.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which is the world's longest sea crossing, stretching 34 miles across the Pearl River Delta, cost about £15billion to build.
Rather than performing complex assembly in the hazardous conditions of the canyon floor, much of the construction was modular. Components were manufactured off-site, transported to the location and lifted into place.
The rapid and relatively low-cost construction could be explained by the project’s structure, according toloveMONEY.com.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
