On the morning of August 27, 2024, with the precise welding of the steel giant arms on both sides of the bridge, the G3 Tongling Yangtze River Highway and Railway Bridge ushered in a historic moment: the main bridge was successfully closed.

Known as the world's first double-deck cable-stayed composite bridge, this cleverly combines the dual advantages of cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges, and is known for its ultra-large span, heavy-duty load, and excellent rigidity, showing superior economy and driving safety than traditional single bridges.

With a total length of 11.88 kilometers, the G3 Tongling Yangtze River Railway Bridge integrates expressways, intercity railways and freight railways, realizing the grand concept of one bridge with three purposes. Among them, the upper six-lane expressway is designed to reach a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour, while the lower layer is paved with four-lane railways, including the 250 kilometers per hour Hechi intercity railway and the 120 kilometers per hour Tongling South to Jiangbei Port Railway, which will be extended to Zongyang in the future and connected to Anqing to build a closer transportation network.

Since the start of construction in early 2022, the G3 Tongling Yangtze River Railway Bridge has been carefully planned by Tongling Communications Investment Group, designed by China Railway Bridge Institute and carefully constructed by China Railway Bridge Bureau. As the third Yangtze River bridge in Tongling City, it not only stands about 720 meters upstream of the Tongling Yangtze River Highway Bridge, the first bridge of the Wanjiang River, but also paints a new scenery along the river.

In the process of construction, the bridge bravely climbed the peak of science and technology, innovated and applied a number of new technologies and new equipment, created four first-in-class and eight brilliant achievements of technological innovation, and won 14 national patents, setting a new benchmark for the construction of similar bridges in China and even the world.

Since 2015, Tongling City has started the grand blueprint planning of the bridge, and until 2020, the G3 Tongling Yangtze River Highway and Railway Bridge project has been successfully included in the national long-term plan, becoming an important part of the "Yangtze River Trunk Line Crossing Passage Layout Plan 2020-2035".

With the closure of the main bridge, the construction of the bridge has officially entered a new phase of ancillary works, and it is expected to be fully completed and put into operation in September 2025. At that time, this magnificent bridge will not only greatly enhance the regional ability to cross the river and promote the integrated development of the regional economy, but also become an important link for the interconnection of the Yangtze River Delta region and contribute to the high-quality development of the national transportation industry.Editor/Jiang Mingyue