The Guanyin Mountain Beach Bridge section of the Xiamen Kinmen Bridge project in China has successfully completed the lateral sliding of a 15000 ton steel box girder.
This innovative construction method was adopted to overcome complex marine environments and protect the coastal landscape.
1. Bridge Specifications
The bridge is a double rib steel box arch bridge.
The total length is 525 meters with a main span of 385 meters.
The arch height reaches 93 meters.
The maximum deck width is nearly 90 meters.
The maximum height difference between the staggered decks is 8.3 meters making the overall structure highly complex.
2. Construction Method
The project team eliminated the need for offshore cranes by pre assembling the girder in conditions similar to a land environment.
The 15000 ton structure consisting of 161 steel box girders was assembled off site at the side of its final location.
Five sliding tracks were installed to support the massive structure.
The sliding operation utilized 56 units of 600 ton jacks for load bearing and 44 units of 100 ton jacks for horizontal pushing.
A total of 100 hydraulic jacks worked in perfect synchronization to move the structure at a speed of 1.5 meters per hour.
The structure was moved a total distance of 135 meters while maintaining millimeter level precision.
This large scale sliding method prevents schedule delays caused by adverse weather and maximizes operational safety.
The Xiamen section of the project is progressing smoothly toward its targeted completion by the end of 2026.
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