The Shanghai-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge linking Suzhou and Nantong in Jiangsu province is now near completion – following installation of the last section of the steel truss on Sept 9. 

It is the world's largest road-rail cable-stayed bridge with a length of more than 11 kilometers and a main span of 1,092 meters. 

Jiangsu Great Hoisting Machinery Co Ltd, a company based in Tongzhou, Nantong, has played an important role in the construction of the bridge. It developed four special launching gantries for the project, which can lift up to 1,800 tons of steel trusses to a height of 22.15 m.  

According to Wang Jianchun, CEO of Great Hoisting Machinery, the company carried out a series of evaluations on its products before applying them to the construction. It also invested more than 20 million yuan ($2.82 million) in an extra gantry weighing 600 tons to secure the smooth running of the project. 

To ensure the unfettered shipping on China's busiest waterway, the bridge is designed to have a longer span. About 73,000 cubic meters of concrete and 11,000 tons of steel bars were used to build each tower, whose height is equivalent to a 110-storey skyscraper. 

According to Ning Chaoxin, the contractor of the project, the huge construction volume is required so that the bridge can withstand violent typhoons, magnitude-8 earthquakes and impacts from the collision of a 100,000 ton ship. 

The bridge will have a six-lane expressway on the upper deck and four railway tracks on the lower deck. 

The track laying of the bridge will start in January 2020. The bridge is expected to ensure smooth passage for shipping on the Yangtze River, while easing road and railway traffic congestion in the Yangtze River Delta region, China's economic powerhouse. 

A construction site over the Yangtze River in Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]