JAW-DROPPING footage shows mountains in south-west China sliced in half to make way for a highway – and the world’s tallest bridge.
Given that more than 92 percent of Guizhou province is mountainous terrain, engineers constructing the 2,050-foot Huajiang Canyon Bridge had no other option than to level off the mountain tops.
Part of the 190-mile Guizhou Luan Expressway, the bridge cuts through the region’s rugged terrain.
Guizhou is located around 800 miles west of the city of Shenzhen.
Set to open in late 2025, the bridge will become the world’s highest – towering 2,051 feet above the canyon floor.
The engineering feat transforms a once hour-long, winding mountain drive into a one-minute sky-high crossing.
The main steel truss structure responsible for bearing the load of the bridge consists of 93 segments and has a total weight of about 22,000 metric tonnes—three times as heavy as the Eiffel Tower.
In January, builders installed the final steel reinforcement, which weighs 215 tonnes.
Chen Jianlei, who serves as deputy director of the Guizhou Transport Department, informed China Daily: “The successful completion of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will enhance economic connections among nearby cities like Guiyang, Anshun, and Qianxinan, promoting economic integration within the region.”
Li Zhao, chief engineer of the project, said in April that seeing his project come to life gives him “a profound sense of achievement and pride.”
Work on the £227 million project began in January 2022.
As of April, it was 95 percent complete, according to Zhang Shenglin, chief engineer at Guizhou Highway Group, who spoke to China Daily.
Until the bridge is ready, the Beipanjiang Bridge in Guizhou province—approximately 200 miles to the north of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge—will continue to hold the rank as the world’s tallest bridge.
It has four lanes of traffic and stands 1788 feet over the Beipan River.
Notably, nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges are in Guizhou.
Meanwhile, in October last year construction began on Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower, poised to be the world’s tallest skyscraper.
Once completed, it will stand 3,280 feet high – three times taller than the Shard.
But Saudi Arabia is already planning another impressive skyscraper.
The Rise Tower is planned to reach a staggering height of 1.2 miles, effectively doubling the height of the current tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, and even surpassing the long-awaited Jeddah Tower.
