On the early morning of November 4, 2026 local time, Astana's winter night was still dark, but the elevated work surface was already brightly lit. A 45 meter steel box girder was lifted, crossed the pier column, fine tuned, and lowered, all eyes focused on the gradually narrowing gap between the beam body and the support, until the position was confirmed. The heart that had been hanging all night was finally released. The key construction nodes of Section 4-3 of Astana Light Rail Phase II Line 4 have come to an end.

A crucial moment on a winter night

The 45 meter steel box girder is a control project for Line 4, with a large span, high self weight, and high precision requirements; Astana's winter arrives early, and high-altitude lifting still has to compete with cross process time. The positioning of the beam marks a crucial breakthrough in the elevated main structure of section 4-3, and the key construction channels in the section have been completely opened up. The bridge deck paving, mechanical and electrical installation and other processes have been fully carried out. The first phase of construction with the participation of Chinese enterprises has been opened to traffic, and the experience of extreme cold construction is being applied to the bridge deck of the second phase.

Put effort into it before lifting

Since the fourth quarter, the project team has been seizing the golden construction period before the arrival of winter, facing challenges such as complex overseas environments, high precision construction difficulties, and tight schedules. Before lifting, the technical team deepens the special lifting plan, repeatedly conducts technical briefings, force calculations, and simulation simulations, and strictly controls the accuracy of the entire process of prefabrication, transportation, alignment, and positioning of steel box girders; The construction team optimizes the process, reasonably allocates personnel, machines, and materials, implements 24-hour shift work to tackle challenges, and makes good use of the skylight construction period to solve the problems of cross construction and high-altitude operations; Safety quality inspection is conducted throughout the entire process, closely monitoring high-altitude lifting, pile foundation construction, and pier pouring, strictly implementing safety control and quality acceptance standards. This set of tactics is inherited from the first phase: Chinese standards, Chinese technology, Chinese equipment, along with extreme cold working methods and local collaborative experience, and continues into the second phase.

A line connects two cities

Pull the camera away, this steel beam falls onto a larger wire mesh. Astana Light Rail Line 4 connects Astana and Koschi cities and is a core commuter line with a total length of 9.0 kilometers. The entire line is elevated and has 3 elevated stations with an average distance of 3.0 kilometers between stations; The starting point is 401 station, and the endpoint is connected to the section of the first phase of the light rail project to achieve seamless operation. The first phase connects the airport with the urban core area, and Line 4 extends outward, reducing the impact of winter road conditions on commuting between the two cities. The 4-3 section is constructed by Yunnan Engineering Construction General Contracting Co., Ltd. International Engineering Company, covering the civil engineering of 403 station and a total length of 1.686 kilometers, including pile foundation, pier cap, pier column, cast-in-place continuous beam and steel box beam construction.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

The placement of steel beams is not the end point. The project team will strictly control the quality, safety, and schedule, refine the follow-up plan, efficiently promote the remaining projects, and contribute to the timely completion and opening of Line 4. The elevated road erected on a cold night will eventually become a common commuting route for citizens of the two cities.Editor/Yang Meiling