Why China built a highway right in the middle of the river (5 photos)

Chinese engineers did not build a bridge across the river, but directly along it.





China's Hubei province has one of the most incredible infrastructure objects of the planet - a bridge laid along the river. Clarification: no, this bridge is not across the river, it stretches along the current for four extra kilometer.



The unusual bridge was completed in 2015, today it is considered infrastructure miracle. It connects the road from a small town Gufuzhen with a highway that leads to Shanghai. Bridge lies directly along the Xiangxi River, and on its banks there are already there is a road. So why did the Chinese engineers decide not to upgrade the track, How about building a bridge across the river?





The reason is not at all in the effect, which is definitely the bridge manufactures, and not in an attempt to turn Hubei into a tourist mecca, the point is design complexity. Xiangxi is surrounded by mountains, and pave the way here very hard. To some Chinese towns located in the mountainous areas almost impossible to reach.



So the road along the Xiangxi River would involve the construction tunnels in the mountains. In addition, in the course of the work, people would have to be relocated, who live on the banks of the river, as well as cut down part of the forest. Eventually engineers calculated that it would be much easier and cheaper to build a bridge right along the river, besides, it will be possible to preserve the local flora and fauna.



The 4.4 km long bridge cost $71 million. This a huge amount for such a small-sized structure, but a route laid along the Xiangxi coast would have cost even more. Now residents of the city of Gufuzhen get much faster to one of the main highways of the country: they spend 20 minutes on the road instead of an hour. Also the road has become a real tourist attraction: daily motorists come to Hubei just to drive on this unusual bridge.