Wanxian Bridge

Wanxian Bridge 万州长江公路大桥
Coordinates
Carries	China National Highway 318
Crosses	Yangtze River
Locale	Wanzhou, Chongqing, China
Characteristics
Design	Arch Bridge
Material	Concrete
Total length	864 metres (2,835 ft)
Longest span	420 metres (1,380 ft)
Clearance above	133 metres (436 ft)
History
Opened	1997
Wanxian Bridge Location in Chongqing

Wanxian Bridge, or Wanzhou Bridge (simplified Chinese: 万县长江大桥; traditional Chinese: 萬縣長江大橋; pinyin: Wànxiàn Chángjiāng Dàqiáo), is a reinforced concrete arch bridge built over the Yangtze River in 1997. It is located in the vicinity of the Three Gorges Dam in Wanzhou, Chongqing, China. The arch span is 420 metres (1,380 ft) and the total length of the bridge is 864.12 metres (2,835.0 ft). The clearance height to the river below is 133 metres (436 ft) however the full clearance is no longer visible as the reservoir created by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam has increased the height of the water. During the bridge construction, a concrete-filled tubular arch truss frame was built to support the weight of the concrete arch and embedded into the concrete arch.

The Wanxian Bridge is longest existing concrete arch bridge in the world and displaced the Croatian Krk Bridge. It is a major highway bridge with lanes for vehicles and pedestrians.

See also

• List of the largest arch bridges
• Yangtze River bridges and tunnels

External links

• Photo of bridge
• Bridge Engineering:A global perspective, p. 341-342