Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

Facts to Know About Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

Chinese Name: 苏通长江大桥 Pronunciation: Sū Tōng Chángjiāng Dàqiáo

Length: The total length is 32.4 km, of which the river crossing part is 8,146 meters long.

Bridge Toll: 30 yuan for a small car under 7 seats, 25 yuan for a taxi

Address: Sutong Yangtze River Bridge is a highway bridge, located between Nantong City and Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It is 280 kilometers away from Nanjing in the West and 100 kilometers away from the estuary of the Yangtze River in the East.

Introduction of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge referred to as Sutong Bridge, is located in Jiangsu Province, China. It is an important hub of the national highway Shenyang-Haikou Expressway (G15) across the Yangtze River. It is also an important part of the Ganyu Wujiang Expressway, the main road network of Jiangsu Province. It was a super large bridge construction project in China’s bridge history, the largest in construction scale and the most complicated in construction conditions. Sutong Bridge was started in June 2003; the main bridge parts were jointed in June 2007, and completed and opened to traffic on June 30th, 2008. Sutong Yangtze River Bridge starts from Xiaohai Interchange of Tongqi Expressway in the north, crosses the Yangtze River waterway, and ends at Dongbang Interchange of Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Highway in the south, with a total length of 32.4 km, of which the river crossing part is 8,146 meters long. The bridge deck is a two-way six-lane highway with a design speed of 100 km/h.
 

By the end of 2017, the average daily traffic flow of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge had rapidly increased from 27,200 vehicles at the beginning of its opening to 96,900 vehicles, with a daily maximum flow of 136,000 vehicles and a cumulative flow of more than 200 million vehicles.
 

The completion of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge has created four world’s best:

1. The largest main span (cable-stayed bridge): Sutong Yangtze River Bridge with a span of 1,088m was the largest cable-stayed bridge in the world at that time.

2. The deepest foundation: the main pier foundation of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge is composed of 131 pile groups with a length of 120 meters and a diameter of 2.5 meters to 2.8 meters. The cushion cap is 114 meters long and 48 meters wide, covering an area of a football field. It was built on the soft soil foundation with a thickness of 300 meters under a water depth of over 40 meters. It was the largest pile group foundation in the world at that time.

3. The tallest pylon: originally the tallest pylon in the world was the 297-meter pylon of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan. The concrete pylon with a height of 300.4 meters was used for Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, which became the tallest pylon in the world at that time.

4. The longest cable: the longest cable of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge is 577 meters long, 100 meters longer than that of the Tatara Bridge in Japan.

Development Course of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

In 1991, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Communications began to study the planning of the river-crossing channel of Nantong City.
 

From November 1996 to December 1997, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Communications and Nantong Municipal People’s Government jointly organized and completed The Pre-feasibility Study Report of Nantong Yangtze River Highway Corridor.
 

In November 2000, the Ministry of Communications of China completed the industry review of the pre-feasibility study of Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge. In June 2001, the State Planning Commission of China approved The Project Proposal of Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge. In October 2002, the Pre-feasibility Study Report of Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge was approved on the meeting of the State Council, and the ground-breaking ceremony was held in the same month.
 

On the Bridge

In July 2004, the construction of the bridge above the Yangtze River began. In February 2005, the main pier cap of Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge started concreting and completed in May. In August, the foundation project of the main bridge passed the acceptance inspection successfully.
 

In September 2006, the north and south main pylons of the Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge were successfully topped off. In June 2007, the main bridge decks of the Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge were jointed. In October, the epoxy asphalt pavement on the bridge deck was successfully completed.
 

In March 2008, the Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge passed the acceptance inspection and opened for trial operations. On June 30, the Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge was officially opened to traffic.
 

On June 2, 2008, Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge won the Grorge S. Richardson Medal at the International Bridge Conference of 2008.

Big Events About Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

In 2008, the name of the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was inscribed by Jiang Zemin, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
 

Night Scene

In April 2008, special stamps of Sutong Yangtze River Bridge were issued.
 

On May 26, 2008, the torch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was handed over on the newly completed Sutong Yangtze River Bridge.
 

In July 2008, the six-episode TV documentary “Sutong Yangtze River Bridge” was broadcast on CCTV channel.
 

On October 19 2008, the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge Exhibition Hall was opened as a patriotism education base of Jiangsu Province. The exhibition hall is divided into three floors, which reflects the scientific researches and developments, key technologies and innovation in the whole construction project of the bridge.

Top Highlights in Sutong Yangtze River Bridge

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge is a highway, so you can enjoy the scenery along the way, the beautiful and magnificent Yangtze River, and the scenery of the sea and sky. It is suggested that you can go in the evening. The setting sun is very beautiful, and you can share the joy of the people who come back from fishing on the riverside. You can enjoy the warmth of birds returning to their nests. In this short period of more than ten minutes, you will realize the beauty and tranquility of life. Although there are so many cars on your side, you don't feel noisy at all, because under such scenery, your heart has already become calm and return to the original.

Suggested Travel Route

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge is a straight-line highway bridge, so you should drive reasonably according to relevant regulations and just go all the way with your favorite music.

Best Travel Time

Sutong Bridge is open all year round and is not affected by seasonal climate, so you can choose your own season to visit. However, I would like to remind you that there are a lot of floating people during the holidays, so the traffic jam on the bridge deck is serious, which is likely to be dozens of minutes or even several hours. Therefore, we should try our best to avoid holidays, choose working days or avoid daily peak traffic hours.

Near Landscape Scene

authorName23242: Tong Ge

Date: 01/03/2021

Email: info@chinatourstar.com

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