In the early morning, the temperature in the Gongnaisi River Valley dropped below minus ten degrees Celsius. As soon as the concrete tanker truck entered the site, the duty officer measured the temperature before releasing it. The hole was covered with a cotton quilt like insulation layer, and the sound of the rotary drilling rig rolled through the canyon all night. Eighty four pile foundations were dug into the frozen soil one by one.

There is temperature in the sound of the drilling rig

In recent days, the key control project of Kuiduku Expressway, Gongnaisi Extra Large Bridge Cable stayed Bridge, has seized the effective winter construction window period and entered the winter pile foundation construction stage comprehensively. Multiple large mechanical equipment are operating synchronously on site, and construction personnel are carrying out the drilling process in an orderly manner. The valley construction site deep in the Tianshan Mountains is bustling with activity.

This bridge is a 200+390+200 meter double tower double cable plane composite beam cable-stayed bridge, with a total length of 790 meters. The two main towers are equipped with 60 large friction piles with a diameter of 2.5 meters, and the maximum depth of a single pile foundation is 65 meters. The structure span is large, the construction process is complex, and the technical standards are extremely high. In order to overcome the problem of low temperature, the project department strictly follows the winter construction specifications, implements insulation treatment for sand and gravel materials, concrete, and mixing water, and takes special measures such as raw material insulation, mixing temperature control, pouring insulation and curing, wind and frost prevention at the hole opening. The pile foundation hole diameter, hole depth, and sediment thickness are checked item by item to ensure the winter pile forming qualification rate and engineering standardization quality.

The pilgrim on frozen soil

Due to the low temperature, severe cold, and complex geology in mountainous areas, the project team has placed party building on the front line of construction. Party member vanguard posts and assault teams have been established successively, with Party members taking the lead in guarding the scene, inspecting hidden dangers, and tackling technical difficulties, driving all staff to overcome difficulties. On site dispatch chief Lv Hengju said that the main bridge is designed with 84 pile foundations. Currently, it is the golden winter construction period, and efforts will be concentrated in an orderly manner to overcome the impact of low temperatures and large temperature differences between day and night in mountainous areas. Insulation will be done for sand and gravel materials, concrete, and mixing water, and wind and frost prevention treatment will be carried out for pile foundation openings. Safety and quality control will be strictly enforced to efficiently promote pile foundation operations.He also mentioned that the winter construction conditions are difficult and the tasks are heavy. All members of the Party member assault team will stick to the front line of construction, take the initiative to undertake urgent, difficult, dangerous and heavy tasks of the project, closely monitor the key links of winter construction, and ensure the orderly implementation of construction. Keywords: Kuiduku Expressway, Tianshan Tongtu

The Gongnaisi Grand Bridge is located in Gongnaisi National Forest Park, with high altitude and large temperature difference, and an effective construction period of only 6 months throughout the year. In order to minimize the occupation of river valleys and the logging of native snow spruce trees, the bridge has solved the problem with a large-span plan. After completion, it will break the records for bridge span and tower height in Xinjiang. The G3033 Kuiduku Expressway starts from Kuitun City in the north, connects to the G30 Lianhuo Expressway, and extends to Kuche City in the south, connecting to the G3012 Tuhe Expressway. The total length of the route is 393 kilometers, constructed according to the standard of a two-way four lane expressway, with a total construction period of 7 years. After the project is opened, the travel time from Kuitun to Kuche will be shortened from 14 hours to 4 hours, forming a fast forward and slow travel pattern with the G217 Duku Highway, providing strong transportation support for resource development, industrial linkage, and high-quality regional economic development along the route.Editor/Min Jing