On the morning of November 2, 2026, the wind on the north bank of the Yellow River swept over the northern extension of the Second Ring Road East Elevated Road. In the urban balcony station hall, the scaffolding has been replaced with mechanical and electrical pipelines and decorative panels, and workers are fixing the bridge with their heads up and laying cable trays with their heads bent down. Outside the station, the reserved connecting section of the lower level of the Jinan Yellow River Bridge, which is connected to the station, has started laying tracks. A few months ago, this was still a construction site with roaring pile drivers. As the last control station to start construction on the entire line, after the main structure was topped out on September 15th, it has reached its final stage before opening to traffic.

The first station on the north bank reveals a new look

Urban Balcony Station is the first gateway station for Line 7 Phase I to enter the starting area of Jinan's new and old kinetic energy conversion. It is also the only ground level station on the entire line, located between the north extension of the Second Ring East Road viaduct and Fengtang North Street. It is a two-story island style station with a total construction area of 14636.44 square meters. According to the plan, the underground passage of the station will be seamlessly connected and integrated with the TOD comprehensive development project of the urban balcony station. After completion, it will become the first demonstration model of station city integration in the Yellow River North region of Jinan, achieving deep integration of rail transit and urban functions.

A subway crossing the Yellow River

The Phase I project of Line 7 runs in a north-south direction, with a total length of about 30 kilometers, including 25.2 kilometers of underground lines and 4.8 kilometers of elevated lines. It starts from Fenghuang South Road Station, connects the core urban areas of Hanyu District, Central Business District, Honglou District, etc., and crosses the Yellow River to the north. In the starting area, there are four stations: Urban Balcony Station, Science and Technology Innovation Center Station, Daqiao Station, and Jibei Station. It is an important rail transit artery that connects the north and south of the Yellow River and supports the northward development of Jinan city. Since the planning stage, it has been highly anticipated by the people along the line. As the second subway line in China and the first in Shandong to cross the Yellow River, the fault zones along the line intersect with the rich water strata. The builders have overcome the challenges with continuous excavation, synchronized assembly of shield tunneling technology, and intelligent sensing systems. At present, the main structures of 22 stations along the entire line have been capped, and 20 sections have been connected by double tracks. It is expected to be opened by the end of 2027 and will be connected to Line 2, Line 3, Line 4, Line 6, and Line 9 for transfer.

Behind the nodes lies a tough battle

Faced with the shortage of labor during the Spring Festival, the project department closely monitored the opening target, coordinated personnel, equipment, materials, optimized plans, and arranged processes, and completed the construction of all 674 pile foundations in just 72 days, achieving key milestones in foundation construction; Complete the construction of 128 bearing platforms in 93 days; Under the conditions of multi process cross operation and complex working conditions, the construction of the main structure of the station was successfully completed in 111 days, achieving the goal of topping out. The entire construction process involved a cumulative investment of approximately 38000 cubic meters of concrete and over 7500 tons of steel bars, with over 500 on-site workers during peak construction periods. Normalized safety hazard investigation and quality inspection are being carried out simultaneously to achieve zero safety accidents and zero quality defects.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

Next, the construction team will advance the subsequent construction according to the established milestones, safeguard the safety and quality red lines, and make every effort to ensure the timely opening and operation of the Phase I project of Line 7, providing strong rail transit support for the integrated development of Jinan across the Yellow River and convenient travel for citizens. When the train stops across the Yellow River, the skeleton of the city heading north intersects with the daily lives of people on both sides at the same platform.Editor/Yang Meiling