The Hongshui River Bridge, the most difficult part of the Du'an-Bama section of the Hezhou-Bama Expressway, completes cast concrete work on April 2. [Photo/Hechi Daily]

The Hongshui River Bridge, the most difficult part of the Du'an-Bama section of the Hezhou-Bama Expressway that connects the two places, finished cast concrete work on April 2 as the first engineering node completed after the resumption of production since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in January.

Among all continuous rigid frame bridges with corrugated steel webs under construction, Hongshui River Bridge, with a span combination of 92 + 172 + 92 meters, ranks second in Asia and first in China. It is also the first bridge of this type in Guangxi.

The new type of bridge has light weight, convenient construction, strong anti-seismic function, easy maintenance, and good economic benefits.

The novel coronavirus epidemic has caused construction difficulties as many workers from outside Guangxi were unable to return in time to continue work and construction materials were not able to be put in place on time due to blocked logistics.

On Feb 25, construction workers started working immediately after completing a 14-day quarantine and medical observation. Due to their hard work, the completion of the project node was only delayed by two days from the original annual schedule.

The Du’an-Bama section is an important part of the construction of the Guangxi's expressway network and Hongshui River Bridge is one of its most difficult projects. The bridge has great social significance. It will connect Duyang town and Jiangnan township of Dahua Yao autonomous county of Hechi, enable people in high mountainous regions to reach other parts of the country, as well as draw the attention of many tourists to enjoy the Yao ethnic customs in Hechi.