The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is under construction in China’s Guizhou province, which will be the tallest bridge in the world when the project is completed.
The bridge is 625 metres tall, which is nine storeys higher than the Golden Gate Bridge and twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Construction of the bridge began in 2022 and a total of £227 million has been spent. The bridge, which is being built at cloud level, will make transport in the region much easier.
The 93 steel trusses of the bridge under construction have been successfully installed and experts have begun work on the bridge’s bowing. It is expected to open in June 2025. The total length of this steel structure is 2,890 metres and the main span is 1,420 metres long. Once all construction works are completed, it will not only be the tallest in the world, but also the bridge with the largest span in the world built in a mountainous area.
China’s engineering marvel
This megastructure will not only be an engineering marvel, but will also greatly simplify transport in the region. Currently, locals spend at least an hour to cross the canyon, but once the bridge opens, this time will be reduced to just two minutes.
Chen Jianlei, deputy head of the Guizhou Department of Transport, says: “The completion of the bridge will strengthen economic ties between cities in the region and accelerate regional development.”
Until the opening of this bridge, the world’s tallest bridge remains another bridge in China, the Duge Bridge, which rises 564 metres above the Beipanjiang River. The tallest bridge in terms of structure height is the Millau Viaduct in the south of France, a cable-stayed bridge across the valley of the River Tarn. The height of the structure itself is 343 metres.
Construction of the bridge over the large Huajiang Gorge began in January 2022. It was entirely designed and built by the Chinese. Only domestically produced building materials were used in its construction.
