The Changtai Yangtze River Bridge, the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, has officially opened, connecting the cities of Changzhou and Taizhou in China's Jiangsu province. Inaugurated on September 11, 2025, this colossal structure spans 10.3 kilometers, with a main span of 1,208 meters. This engineering marvel significantly reduces travel time between the two cities from over an hour to just 20 minutes. The bridge uniquely integrates a highway, a local road, and an intercity railway onto a single structure, a pioneering approach in large-scale bridge construction that optimizes traffic flow and space utilization.
The bridge's innovative design features an asymmetric lower deck, accommodating a high-speed railway capable of speeds up to 200 km/h alongside a conventional highway. This configuration, a first for a bridge of this magnitude, was achieved by precisely adjusting cable tensions and calibrating prefabricated segments. The construction, which spanned six years, incorporated numerous world-first techniques, including the fastest sinking speed for large caissons in silty clay layers and the development of the world's first intelligent tower crane with a lifting capacity exceeding 10,000 tonne-meters. Additionally, the project advanced the industrialized construction of steel-concrete composite pylons and utilized the world's largest-tonnage deck crane for millimeter-level precision in placing ultra-heavy segments.
The economic implications of the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge are substantial, poised to significantly boost economic development within the Yangtze River Delta region by enhancing connectivity and facilitating the seamless movement of people and goods. This improved infrastructure is expected to stimulate regional trade, attract investment, and foster tourism, thereby elevating the quality of life for residents and strengthening economic integration. This achievement underscores China's commitment to pioneering infrastructure development and its leadership in bridge engineering.
The bridge stands as a testament to human ingenuity and the pursuit of progress, creating new possibilities for growth and collaboration across the region. It surpasses the previous record holder, the Russky Bridge in Vladivostok, Russia, which has a main span of 1,104 meters.