Han Ximin 1824295095@qq.com THE Shenzhong Link, one of the world’s most challenging cross-sea transportation projects, has set 10 world records and stands as a new landmark in the Lingdingyang sea area. From December 2016, over a span of seven years, the construction of this colossal engineering endeavor mobilized the unwavering dedication of around 150,000 workers at its peak. Global tunnel professionals praised the engineering feat that is the Shenzhong Link during the 2024 World Tunnel Congress — the world’s largest, most prestigious, and most influential professional conference in the field of tunnel engineering, which was held in Shenzhen in April. The 24-kilometer-long project features the underwater Shenzhong Tunnel, two man-made islands, and two bridges. The main span of the Shenzhong Bridge — the link’s main bridge — is 1,666 meters long, making it the world’s longest offshore steel box girder suspension bridge. It has a navigational clearance of 76.5 meters, earning the title of the world’s highest sea bridge with the highest clearance for maritime traffic. The S-shaped bridge was designed to ward off drowsiness among drivers. In addition, its pillars are situated perpendicular to the flow of the sea, which enables seawater to efficiently flow by. It has two anchorages, each weighing 1 million tons. The anchorages’ bases, each about the size of 17 basketball courts, counterbalance the weight of the bridge and can withstand vehicles weighing up to 100,000 tons. With a length of 6.8 kilometers and a width up to 55.46 meters, the two-way eight-lane Shenzhong Tunnel is the largest and widest undersea steel-shell concrete-tube tunnel in the world. One of the tunnel project’s greatest challenges was transporting 32 giant tubes, each weighing 80,000 tons, and precisely placing them underwater. “The challenge was to precisely align the 165-meter-long and 10.6-meter-high tubes underwater. The advanced remote control technology we utilized to achieve this docking set a new world record for millimeter-precision underwater alignment,” Ning Jinjin, vice chief engineer of the Shenzhong Link project, said. Ning had participated in the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which is the longest cross-sea bridge-tunnel in the world. He is proud to have participated in the two mega infrastructure projects. To safeguard traffic inside the tunnel, project engineers devised a smart traffic control system that uses different types of sensors to detect accidents and manage emergencies. 10 world records set by the link 1. The Shenzhong Bridge is the world’s longest offshore steel box girder suspension bridge. 2. Standing 91 meters above the water and with a navigable clearance of 76.5 meters, the bridge is the world’s highest offshore sea bridge. 3. The bridge has the world’s largest offshore suspension bridge anchors, with each anchor containing 344,000 cubic meters of concrete. 4. The bridge can withstand a maximum vibration wind speed of 83.7 m/s, making it the world’s most wind-resistant suspension bridge. 5. The bridge has the world’s largest hot-mixed epoxy asphalt paving on a steel bridge deck, with an area of 378,800 square meters. 6. The Shenzhong Tunnel is the world’s longest two-way eight-lane undersea steel-tube-shell immersed tunnel. 7. The Shenzhong Tunnel is the world’s widest undersea steel-tube-shell immersed tunnel. 8. The world’s largest volume of self-compacting concrete was poured in a single tube of the Shenzhen Tunnel, with each containing 29,000 cubic meters of concrete. About 910,000 cubic meters of concrete was used for the tunnel. 9. The Shenzhen Tunnel is the world’s first underwater highway interchange. 10. The world’s broadest (3 meters) repeatedly foldable M-type waterstop was used in the final joint of the immersed tube. (SD News) | 