This joint operation faces the dual challenges of high-speed traffic and canal navigation, with a complex construction environment and great technical difficulty. The project team overcame difficulties and carried out precise construction, successfully completing the 210 meter special beam closure on July 8, 2026, and connecting key construction nodes of the project.

Overcoming complex construction challenges

The 210 meter steel-concrete hybrid continuous rigid frame constructed by Helong this time is the most difficult and technically advanced section of the Nantong super large bridge construction, and also a key control project for the entire Shanghai Nanjing Hefei high-speed railway. The beam body consists of an 84 meter steel box girder and other prestressed concrete box girders, connected by a hybrid structural system using steel-concrete construction. It not only breaks through the limitations of traditional bridge spans, but also reduces the self weight of the structure, ensuring the stiffness and stability of large-span bridges. The entire construction process needs to take into account both the Shenhai Expressway and the Tonglu Canal shipping, which poses numerous risks and hidden dangers. The project team optimized the construction plan, set up special protective facilities, relied on simulation and dynamic monitoring technology, implemented full process safety control, and completed the joint construction with zero risk.

Innovation Empowerment Construction

In response to the large-span and asymmetric structural characteristics of bridges, the project team innovated construction methods, adopted asymmetric hanging basket cantilever construction method, developed special fixtures, and solved the problems of unbalanced load and line control. At the same time, through multi-dimensional closed-loop research, we aim to establish a solid defense line for the construction quality of steel-concrete composite sections. Keywords: high-speed rail, steel-concrete rigid frame composite

Based on this project, the project has accumulated 7 invention patents, 3 utility model patents, and 1 provincial-level construction method, with multiple domestically pioneering processes and overall technology reaching the leading level in China. The Shanghai Nanjing High speed Railway, as an important eastern section of the Yangtze River High speed Railway, will connect the three major metropolitan areas after completion, optimize the railway network along the Yangtze River, and help promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Delta.Editor/Min Jing