According to Guangdong Transportation Group, the Shenzhen Zhongshan Expressway, which has been under construction for over 7 years, officially opened for trial operation at 15:00 today (June 30th).

As a super project in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, the Shenzhen China Channel is a world-class cross sea cluster project that integrates bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater connectivity, setting ten world records and being one of the most difficult cross sea cluster projects in the world for comprehensive 

construction.

Located in the core area of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, it integrates "bridges, islands, tunnels, and underwater interconnectivity". Currently, it is the most difficult cross sea cluster project in the world for comprehensive construction. Why is the Shenzhen China Channel so "impressive"?

01
Bridge
Although the length of Shenzhong Bridge (formerly known as Lingdingyang Bridge) is less than 3000 meters, it is one of the key control projects along the entire line.
Building this bridge requires overcoming multiple challenges——
Firstly, it is necessary to meet the busy demand for navigation.
Upstream of this bridge is Guangzhou Port, the largest container mainline port in southern China.

It has over 130 international container shipping routes, with more than 4000 ships sailing under the bridge every day. In the future, it will also meet the navigation needs of 300000 ton bulk carriers and 30000 TEU container ships.

02
Tunnel
The Shenzhong Channel Subsea Tunnel has a total length of 6845 meters and is the longest and widest underwater steel shell concrete immersed tube tunnel in the world. What high-tech are there inside the tunnel?
Beidou satellite positioning
The tunnel has achieved comprehensive coverage of Beidou satellite positioning signals, which not only allows real-time navigation, but also maintains communication and contact at any time. Even in the 40 meter deep underwater tunnel, "5G" surfing and internet access can be achieved.
Intelligent inspection robot
There are a total of 14 intelligent inspection robots in the tunnel. On average, one car is installed every 1.2 kilometers in the southbound and northbound car tunnels. These robots can receive remote instructions from the control center to rush to the scene in emergency situations, and can also guide traffic through their built-in speakers.
Smart Traffic Control System
In order to ensure the safety of tunnel driving, the Shenzhen Zhongshan Tunnel has developed an intelligent traffic control system, which can actively and quickly detect accidents through various sensors installed inside the tunnel.
Central nervous system for safe operation - central corridor
The central pipe gallery is divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. The bottom level is the location for laying cables, optical cables, water supply and drainage, and fire protection pipelines along the entire line. It can be said to be the "central nervous system" for the safe operation of the deep middle passage.
The middle layer is a horizontal connecting road, and the top layer is a smoke exhaust channel. In the event of a traffic accident or fire, personnel can escape to the opposite lane through the horizontal connecting road.

03
island
How can vehicles safely and smoothly enter the underwater tunnel from a bridge several tens of meters high on the sea surface while driving on the 24 kilometer long deep tunnel? The artificial island on the west side of the Shenzhen Zhongshan Passage has solved this problem. Breaking the world record for rapid island formation in 4 and a half months, when viewed from the air, the Western Artificial Island is like a Kunpeng spreading its wings on the surface of the Lingdingyang Sea.
Admire the super intelligence behind the super engineering of crossing rivers and seas!

Therefore, the Shenzhong Bridge adopts a 1666 meter ultra long span bridge, which is the world's largest fully offshore steel box girder suspension bridge.
Secondly, it needs to be able to withstand weight. The steel consumption for the steel structure of the Shenzhong Bridge is about 85000 tons, equivalent to the steel consumption of two national sports stadiums, the Bird's Nest. To lift such a heavy bridge, a main cable with greater tension is needed.
The main cable has a diameter of 1.06 meters and is composed of more than 25000 steel wires with a diameter of 6 millimeters. The strength of the steel wires is 2060 megapascals, and each small wire is enough to lift three household cars. The total cable force of the two main cables is nearly 300000 tons. Looking along the main cable, on both sides of the two high main towers, there are two diamond shaped huge anchorages, which are the most important load-bearing structures of long-span suspension bridges.
However, there is little experience in the world to build giant anchor structures in the sea with thick silt layers and complex geology. The single anchorage of Shenzhong Bridge weighs about 1 million tons and covers an area equivalent to 17 international standard basketball courts, making it the largest underwater anchorage in the world. It is like two large "weights", using its own weight to "press down" the entire bridge and the weight of all vehicles that will travel on the bridge in the future. Finally, the biggest challenge facing the Shenzhen Zhongshan Bridge is the wind. Looking around now, on the vast Lingdingyang, the bridge of the Deep Middle Passage is like a giant dragon, winding a beautiful arc on the water surface, with the sea and sky on both sides merging into one, open and spectacular.