The long-awaited railway bridge linking China with Russia over the border river was connected from both sides on Wednesday, said China Railway Harbin Group. 

Li Huachao, chief engineer of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, the company in charge of the construction of the bridge on the Chinese side, said the project's completion officially ends the history of the Chinese and Russian borders lacking cross-river railway bridge.

The full completion of the cross-border bridge, including its railway and highway parts, is scheduled for July. And the bridge is expected to be operational by the start of 2020.

The 2,215-meter-long structure will connect northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province with Nizhneleninskoye in Far East Russia, and some 1,886 meters of the bridge stands in China. Construction of the bridge officially began in February 2014 and China finished its side last October.

The bridge is designed for an annual throughput capacity of 21 million metric tonnes and is expected to be a major transportation corridor between China and Europe. Experts believe it will take China-Russia trade to new heights and plays a significant part in the Belt and Road Initiative. 

(Top image: The Cross-border Sino-Russian railway bridge under construction, November 8, 2018. /VCG Photo)