Qianximen Bridge
| Twin River Bridges | |
|---|---|
| Carries | Trains, motor vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles |
| Crosses |
Yangtze, Yuzhong peninsula, & Jialing River |
| Locale | Chongqing, China |
| Owner | Chongqing City Construction Investment Corporation and Chongqing Rail Transit Corporation |
| History | |
| Designer | China Merchants Chongqing Communications Research & Design Institute Co., Ltd. and T. Y. Lin International |
| Construction cost | 1.37 billion ¥ (US$208.2 million) |
| Dongshuimen Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Crosses | Yangtze River |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Combination girder and cable-stayed bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Pier construction | Concrete |
| Total length | 858 m (2,815 ft) |
| Longest span | 445 m (1,460 ft) |
| No. of spans | 3 |
| Piers in water | 2 |
| History | |
| Opened | April 1, 2014 |
| Qianximen Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Crosses | Jialing River |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Combination girder and cable-stayed bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Pier construction | Concrete |
| Total length | 720 m (2,362 ft) |
| Longest span | 312 m (1,024 ft) |
| No. of spans | 4 |
| Piers in water | 1 |
The Dongshuimen Bridge and the Qianximen Bridge, known collectively as the Twin River Bridges, are a pair of bridges that form a road and rail connection in Chongqing, China. Consisting of two cable-stayed bridges and a tunnel across the Yuzhong peninsula, the connection opened in 2014.
Planning for the Twin River Bridges dates to 1947, when the alignment of the connection appeared in planning documents for Chongqing. Right of way for planned connection has been preserved since then. The plan for the crossings has always included transit rail.
By the time design of the Twin River Bridges began in 2008, it had been determined that the bridges could not be identical. Crossing of the Yangtze on the south side of the Yuzhong peninsula would require a longer main span and allow for two tower in the water. A deep shipping channel in the Jialing River would not allow a second tower. The plan called for a double deck design with four vehicular lanes and pedestrian walkways on the top and two rail tracks beneath.
A design competition held in July 2008 sought signature long-span bridges which would complement the surrounding landscape. A team of China Merchants Chongqing Communications Research & Design Institute Co., Ltd. and T. Y. Lin International, led by Man-Chung Tang, won the competition. The constructed design has been called visually impactful.
The design team considered and ruled out several bridge types. A conventional cable-stayed bridge design was determined to require the towers to be 170 meters above the deck. The towers would have been taller than surrounding buildings when the 60-meter deck height was added. This was considered visually overpowering. The span requirements were too long for a conventional girder bridge. A suspension bridge design would have required anchorages that interfered with the foundations of buildings along the sides of the rivers.
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Wikipedia