PINGTAN, CHINA — The Chinese engineering firm Zoomlion has announced its cranes have completed lifting operations at what is claimed to be the world’s longest road-rail cross-sea bridge.
Over 35 self-developed tower cranes produced by Zoomlion were used to undertake lifting operations for the Pingtan road-rail bridge project.
Zoomlion’s equipment series was selected by China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., the contractor of the project. The crane series includes the D1100-63V tower crane, TC7035-16 hammerhead tower crane and flat-head TCT7015A-10E tower crane.
Pingtan Bridge, a 16.32-kilometre bridge project that includes three cable-stayed bridges, crosses the Haitan Strait in the East China Sea.
“Strong winds, storm surges, undercurrents and large waves pose unique operational challenges seldom seen on construction sites,” stated a Dec. 16 release.
The project will require over 300,000 tonnes of steel and 2.66 million tonnes of cement.
Technical solutions to resist high winds included re-designing the configuration of the D1100-63 to ensure wind resistance.
The upgraded D1100-63 tower crane can be jacked up when exposed to gale-force 7 winds and can be safely operated up to gale-force 8 which is 20.7 metres per second.
In extreme cases, it can withstand wind speeds of up to 46 metres per second, which is the equivalent of a category 14 typhoon, the release stated.
The project is the first cross-sea bridge to be constructed under a complex oceanway environment and is built to withstand winds of gale-force 10, said Zoomlion.
The bridge is expected to open to traffic in 2020.
Good job.