The first shaft support pier of the Ma’ershan Bridge in Suao village was completed on July 9, marking the start of full-scale construction of this bridge project.

The No.2 pier, standing 10.35 meters high, is propped up by 5.6 tons of steel skeleton as well as 154.5 cubic meters of concrete. It is the first pier to be built for the bridge.

The bridge is part of the Fuzhou-Pingtan high-speed railway, and also the first bridge the railway will run on when entering Pingtan. It will stretch nearly 390 meters, with 11 piers and two abutments.

Background: The Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway

Construction of the Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway – which links the capital city of Fuzhou and the island county of Pingtan in Fujian province – began on Oct 31.

The line stretches 88.4 kilometers, with a designed speed of 160 km per hour (Fuzhou-Fuzhou South) and 200 km per hour (Fuzhou South to Pingtan), a passenger capacity of 50 million and cargo capacity of 15 million tons.

The railway project – with a total accrued investment reaching 26.8 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) – is expected to take over five years.