Cross-sea bridge project takes wing

The Dalian Changhai cross-sea bridge project, with a total investment of 7.9 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), was inaugurated recently in Dalian, Liaoning province. It is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic by 2029.

This project marks the first cross-sea bridge in Northeast China to be constructed using a new mechanism of cooperation between the government and social capital.

The bid was won by a consortium led by China State Construction Engineering Corp, which is responsible for overall investment, construction, and operation.

The bridge spans a total length of 25.5 kilometers, with a 6.5-km land segment and a 19-km sea segment.

It will incorporate modern construction techniques and new green low-carbon technologies, featuring four-lane roadways with a designed speed of 80 km per hour.

Changhai county is the only island border county in China, renowned for its natural fishing resources and delicious seafood.

However, various natural factors such as tides, strong winds and fog limit maritime transportation in the area for over 60 days each year, hindering travel of the residents and significantly impacting activities like healthcare and emergency response on the islands.

"The construction of the bridge will put an end to this once and for all," said Yu Jingxu, deputy head of Changhai. "Upon completion, the bridge will enable 24-hour rapid travel between the land and islands, freeing residents from the constraints of wind and waves for travel, and boosting goods transportation, and industrial development," he said.

Yu believes that the bridge will serve as an important economic artery for the high-quality development of Changhai, promoting the integration of culture, sports and tourism to enhance the quality of the Changshan Archipelago tourism resort.

Xiong Maoping, Party chief of Dalian, said that as China's largest land-island road project under construction, the Changhai cross-sea bridge is a foundational project to drive high-quality development of the marine economy and improve the production and living conditions of the islands' residents.

Xiong highlighted that Dalian has actively seized national policy opportunities in recent years, striving to secure projects and stabilize investments.

In the first quarter, the city initiated and resumed construction on 1,392 projects with a planned annual investment of 103.85 billion yuan. Among these, 242 were newly initiated projects, with over 60 percent being industrial projects.