A major milestone was reached on July 6 for the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei High-speed Railway, with the successful closure of a 210-meter steel-concrete hybrid continuous rigid frame bridge in Tongzhou district, Nantong.

The closure section uses 24-millimeter steel plates for the top slab, with a deck width of 12.6 meters. Since steel girder closure is highly sensitive to temperature, crews monitored the gap for 72 hours from July 2 and completed the work at 25 degrees Celsius. The entire operation lasted fourteen hours, starting with hoisting on the afternoon of July 5 and ending with final positioning on the morning of July 6.

This achievement paves the way for subsequent track-laying work. Once operational, the railway will create a new fast corridor among the Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hefei metropolitan areas. It will optimize the railway network along the Yangtze River, support the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and promote the integrated, high-quality growth of the Yangtze River Delta region. The line is expected to be ready for service by the end of October 2027.

The project team monitors the construction of the Tongzhou Section of the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei High-speed Railway [Photo/WeChat account: wxtzfb]