Xiling Bridge over the Yangtze River, China

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China. The Xiling Bridge crosses the Yangtze 4.5 km downstream from the mammoth Three Gorges Dam project. Building a bridge on China's busiest waterway, near the vast construction site of the Three Gorges Dam, presented many challenges. In addition, the owner specified that the bridge be opened to traffic as quickly as possible. Thus, prime considerations in the design phase of the bridge were how to minimize interference with the navigation channel and how to avoid disruptions during construction.