Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge Scenic Area

Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge Scenic Area

Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge Scenic Area

The Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge is an important part of Jiangsu Province’s “Four Verticals, Four Horizontals, and Four Connectors” highway network backbone and cross-Yangtze crossings. The project has a total length of 35.66 kilometers (with the southern extension being 12 kilometers), consisting of nine parts: the northern approach, northern elevated approach bridge, northern connecting bridge, north channel cable-stayed bridge, Shiyeyuzhou Interchange, south channel suspension bridge, southern connecting bridge, southern approach, and the southern approach extension. The main span of the south channel suspension bridge is 1,490 meters, making it currently the largest of its kind in China and the third largest in the world. The north channel bridge is a three-span, double-tower, double-cable-plane steel truss cable-stayed bridge with spans of (176+406+176) meters. The entire line adopts a six-lane (four-lane for the southern extension) expressway standard, with a design speed of 100 km/h and 120 km/h for the southern extension. The navigation clearance of the suspension bridge is 50 meters, allowing passage of 50,000-ton cargo ships, while the cable-stayed bridge allows 18-meter clearance.

The total investment of the entire project was 5.78 billion yuan, with a construction period of five years. Construction began on October 20, 2000, and the bridge was completed and opened to traffic in 2005. Within Zhenjiang's territory, the bridge spans a total length of 21.749 kilometers, accounting for 61% of the total length. The portion of the main bridge within Zhenjiang measures 3.841 kilometers, making up 74% of the main bridge’s total length. The bridge project includes five interchanges within Zhenjiang: Shiyeyuzhou Interchange, Yuejin Road Interchange, National Highway 312 Interchange, Dantu Shangdang Interchange, and the Dantu Interchange intersecting with the Shanghai–Nanjing Expressway.

The Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge is currently the first modern composite mega bridge on the Yangtze River that combines both rigid and flexible structures. The construction of the bridge plays a very significant role in further enriching cross-river crossings, improving the layout of national and provincial expressway networks, and accelerating development along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu. At the same time, it will further highlight the city’s status as a major transportation hub. After the bridge’s completion, east-west transportation in Zhenjiang will be further strengthened, while north-south transport will achieve a major breakthrough. The Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge and its southern approach expressway will form a land-based “golden cross” passage with the Shanghai–Nanjing Expressway within Zhenjiang. The Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge Scenic Project is a world-class cultural tourism attraction centered around a landmark bridge. With a total investment of 480 million yuan, the main section is located within Zhenjiang. This unique advantage, combined with the famous landscapes of Zhenjiang—a renowned historical and cultural city—will inevitably lead to a qualitative leap in the city’s tourism resources and bring tremendous opportunities for rapid development in Zhenjiang’s tourism industry.