The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou Province, China, has just reached an important milestone when the final steel girder, weighing 215 tons, was successfully installed on January 17, 2025.
With a record height of 625 meters above the Beipan River, this 1.4 km long bridge is 9 times higher than the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, which is only 67 meters above the water.
Huajiang Bridge is expected to open in late 2025, becoming the world's tallest bridge.
The Huajiang Bridge not only breaks world records, but also promises to greatly boost regional connectivity and tourism. According to China Daily, the bridge will shorten the time to cross the canyon from 1 hour to 2 minutes, facilitating economic development and connecting neighboring cities such as Guiyang and Anshun.
Construction began in 2022, overcoming many challenges due to the rugged terrain of Huajiang Gorge. The main structure of the bridge consists of 93 steel girder sections, with a total weight of up to 22,000 tons, equivalent to the weight of 2 Eiffel Towers. The total construction cost is 280 million USD.
Currently, the title of the world's highest bridge belongs to Beipanjiang Bridge, also located in Guizhou Province, about 320 kilometers north of Huajiang Bridge. At 565 meters high, Beipanjiang Bridge has held this record since its completion in 2016.
According to Mr. Tran Kien Loi, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport of Guizhou Province, the bridge will be an important link to promote regional economic integration. However, this project also encountered great difficulties due to the terrain conditions of the plateau, the temperature difference between day and night, and the constant strong winds in the canyon.
Currently, 80% of the project is complete, and the next phase will be the installation of connecting plates between the steel beams. This work will be implemented after the Lunar New Year, with the goal of completion and commissioning in the second half of 2025.
