Gerald
06-30-11, 10:05 AM
China has opened the world's longest sea bridge to general traffic.
The bridge spans 42.4km (26.3 miles) to connect the eastern coastal city of Qingdao to the suburb of Huangdao, in Jiaozhou Bay.
State media say the bridge passed construction tests on Monday and it opened to traffic on Thursday, along with an undersea tunnel.
The bridge would easily cross the English Channel, which is 32km wide at its narrowest point.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8453/bron1763564c.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/215/bron1763564c.jpg/)
The bridge will carry 30,000 cars a day and - it is hoped - slash commuting times.
It is 4km longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the US state of Louisiana.
It took four years to build and state media say the project cost over 10bn yuan ($1.55bn; £970m). The bridge is supported on more than 5,200 pillars.
It is expected to carry more than 30,000 cars a day, and will reportedly cut the commuting time between Qingdao and Huangdao by up to 30 minutes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13976281
Note: 30 June 2011 Last updated at 11:43 GMT
The bridge spans 42.4km (26.3 miles) to connect the eastern coastal city of Qingdao to the suburb of Huangdao, in Jiaozhou Bay.
State media say the bridge passed construction tests on Monday and it opened to traffic on Thursday, along with an undersea tunnel.
The bridge would easily cross the English Channel, which is 32km wide at its narrowest point.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8453/bron1763564c.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/215/bron1763564c.jpg/)
The bridge will carry 30,000 cars a day and - it is hoped - slash commuting times.
It is 4km longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the US state of Louisiana.
It took four years to build and state media say the project cost over 10bn yuan ($1.55bn; £970m). The bridge is supported on more than 5,200 pillars.
It is expected to carry more than 30,000 cars a day, and will reportedly cut the commuting time between Qingdao and Huangdao by up to 30 minutes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13976281
Note: 30 June 2011 Last updated at 11:43 GMT