Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge celebrates 60th birthday

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Enduring seven floods and 77 ferry crushes, China’s first road and rail steel bridge across the Yangtze River, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, will celebrate its 60th birthday, still standing strong.

On April 17, the Wuhan Railway Bureau published a “physical examination report” showing the healthy status of the bridge. Without any deflection or sinking, the bridge can still withstand pressures up to 60,000 tons, water flow up to 10 million cubic meters, floods with a flow rate up to five meters and earthquakes up to eight magnitudes.

The bridge’s 24,805 tons of steel beams and eight piers are in good conditions without cracks. None of the one million rivets are found to be loose.

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge on a sunny day. /VCG Photo

'The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was expected to last 100 years. Although 60 years have passed, the bridge is still in its 'strong years’. So now we intend to prolong its service life by scientific conservation, extending its longevity to 150 years,” Huang Wei, director of Wuhan Bridge Section from Wuhan Railway Bureau told Changjiang Daily.

The third longest river in the world, the Yangtze runs over 6,000 kilometers from west to east and measures five kilometers at its widest point. According to the China Daily, 162 bridges have been built over the Yangtze since Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge’s debut.

100,000 vehicles cross Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge daily. /VCG Photo

Today, more than 18 billion crossings are made by people across the river every year. Around 300 trains and 100,000 vehicles cross Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge daily.