Recently, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Transportation officially approved the construction drawings of a series of key hydraulic structures and bridges in the Lianshen Line Huangxiang River to Huaihe River estuary section waterway regulation project, including the Datuo Second Line Ship Lock, Datuo Ship Lock Bridge, Yuegang Bridge, Changfa Bridge, Kanchang Bridge and the civil engineering part of the abandoned Yellow River culvert. This move marks that the large-scale water transport infrastructure construction project is about to be fully launched and enter the substantive construction countdown stage.

The Lianshen Line Huangxiang River to Huaihe River estuary section waterway regulation project, as an important link connecting the Huangxiang River and the Huaihe River estuary, is 33.95 kilometers long, of which the regulation mileage reaches 30.64 kilometers. The project is designed to be built in accordance with the standards of a secondary waterway, with a designed capacity of 2,000-ton ships, ensuring that the bottom width of the channel is not less than 60 meters and the navigable water depth is not less than 4.0 meters, which greatly improves the carrying capacity and navigation efficiency of regional water transport.

One of the highlights of the project is the newly built second-line ship lock of Datao, which is large in scale, measuring 230×23×5 meters, which will effectively improve the efficiency of ship passing through the lock and relieve traffic pressure. At the same time, the existing six bridges will be rebuilt to ensure that the navigation clearance scale meets the future traffic needs of large ships, especially the clearance of the Datao ship lock bridge across the first and second line ship locks is not less than 16×7 meters and 23×7 meters respectively, and the other bridges cross the navigable waters with one hole, and the clearance scale is not less than 70×7 meters, which shows the foresight and scientific nature of the project design.

In addition, the project also involves the reconstruction of the abandoned Yellow River culvert, aiming to maintain its original function while improving its compatibility with the modern water transport system. The total investment of the entire project is expected to be as high as 4.083 billion yuan, and it is planned to be completed in four years, which reflects Jiangsu Province's firm determination to improve regional transportation infrastructure, optimize transportation structure, and build a modern comprehensive transportation system.

The implementation of this project is not only a major breakthrough in water transportation in Yancheng, but also a key link in promoting the in-depth implementation of national strategies such as the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region, the development of Jiangsu's coastal areas, and the construction of the Huaihe River Ecological Economic Belt. It will effectively break through the navigation bottleneck of Yancheng's north-south main waterway, realize the seamless connection between the Lianshen Line and the second phase of the Huaihe River Inlet Waterway Supporting Navigation Project, and further improve the high-level inland waterway network of Yancheng Port's "one port and four districts", injecting strong impetus into the economic development of the Yellow Sea New District and even a wider area.Editor/Cheng Ting