On August 11, with the demolition of the last arch rib external skeleton, the world's largest span cantilever casting arch bridge––the main arch ring of Shui Luo River Bridge of Luzhou-Gulin-Jinsha Expressway successfully completed its arch closure, pressing the “acceleration butten”for completing the construction of Gulin-Jinsha Expressway by the end of 2023.

A Rainbow-like Bridge Photo by Liu Yuan

Shuilu River Bridge is located at the junction of Yongle Street and Longshan Town, Gulin County, Lulin City, Sichuan Province, and is a key controlling project for the construction of Gulin-Jinsha Expressway. This bridge is a reinforced concrete deck cantilever cast arch bridge. The length of the left panel is 1721.25 meters; the length of the right panel is 1676.20 meters, and the calculated length of the main span is 335 meters. After the completion of the bridge, it will become the world's largest span cantilever casting arch highway bridge.

The main arch ring of Shui Luo River Bridge was successfully completed Photo by Liu Yuan

It is reported that, as one of the New Western Land-sea Corridors, Gulin-Jinsha Expressway is a six-lane highway with the highest bridge-to-tunnel ratio in China. After the completion of the project, it will be of great significance to create a Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing tourism loop, promote the effective use of resources, and help rural revitalization in the Wumeng Mountain Area.