The construction of a railroad bridge at the Beidongkou channel in Pingtan reached a milestone on Sept 2, as workers began hammering the first deepwater pile foundation.

An offshore construction platform near a railroad bridge at the Beidongkou channel in Pingtan, Fujian province. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

It means the construction of the main structure of the bridge has officially started, the Pingtan Times reported, citing one of the engineers.

The pile foundation is situated under the No.39 pier of the bridge. It will be placed in a reinforced cage about 94 meters below the sea and will then be filled with concrete.

The No.39, 40 and 41 piers will support the main structure of the bridge. The distance between two piers spans about 168 meters.

The complicated geographical conditions, namely the bare seabed, have presented a serious challenge to the engineering of the project.

“We are working in a confined construction space which is filled with plenty of facilities for temporary use and some pretty big equipment, not to mention the peculiar hydrographic conditions, all of which contribute to a much harder construction than that of normal bridges,” said Song Guohui, an engineer.

The bridge, linking Dalian islet and Pingtan Island, is part of the 16.3-km Pingtan Haixia Railroad Bridge which connects Pingtan and Changle county. The cross-sea rail link will start from Songxia Port in Changle, stretch southeast over the Yuanhong channel, the Guyumen channel, Changyu Island, Xiaolian Island, the Xiaolian-Dalian island channel, Dalian Islet, Haitan Strait, and finally reach Suao town on Pingtan Island.

The Pingtan Haixia Railroad Bridge is part of the 88-km Fuzhou-Pingtan railway.