Xianshenhe Bridge仙神河大桥Jincheng, Shanxi, China528 feet high / 161 meters high446 foot span / 136 meter span2009
Image by Xinhuanet.
A spectacular new Chinese extradosed bridge that leaps between two cliffs, the Xianshenhe River Bridge was the highest extradosed bridge in the world and just one of several towering structures along the G55 Jinji expressway between Jiyuan, Henan Province and Jincheng, Shanxi Province. The 4-lane highway cuts through the Wangwu Shan mountain range, a formidable barrier of deep canyons and twisting rivers that forms a natural border between these two mighty provinces in north-central China.
The Xianshenhe Bridge has a dual span configuration of 123+123 meters. The tower is approximately 49 meters above the deck and supports a prestressed concrete single box, three-chamber beam 8.5 meters deep over the pier and 4 meters at the ends. The deck is 26 meters wide and is supported by 11 pairs of cable stays.
To keep the highway as low, level and direct as possible, the Chinese engineers punched through the highest mountains with several tunnels. The two longest are located on either side of the Xianshenhe River with the 4,721-meter-long Yuehuquan Tunnel and the 3,480-meter-long Paipan Tunnel.
Lucky for bridge fans, the highway department decided to build a scenic parking area on a precarious location between one of the tunnels and the Xianshenhe Bridge. Here you can peek over the edge of the cliff and see the entire pier and mast dropping down 210 meters to the floor of the Xianshenhe River gorge. The structure will remind many of the Millau bridge in France but the fantastic terrain and the dramatic U-shaped river bend make it a bridge crossing unlike any other in the world.
Xianshenhe Bridge Elevation
作为一座跨立在两个悬崖之上的巨大的中国新建的斜拉桥，神仙河大桥式从河南省济源至山西省晋城之间的晋济高速上的诸多高耸桥梁之一。
为了让高速公路建设尽可能的低平和顺直，中国工程师们在了一座座高山中修建出隧道。其中两条最长的隧道就位于神仙河大桥的两端，向南的一条隧道大约2英里（3.2公里）长，向北的一条大约3英里（5公里）长。桥梁爱好之幸运的是，公路建设部门决定在一个隧道和大桥之间建设一个观光平台。在这里，你可以饱览悬崖峭壁，欣赏全桥桥墩，以及纵观183米一下的神仙河谷底。这座桥将会让你想起很多法国米约大桥的特点，但是美妙的地形和夸张的U型河道弯曲，使得这座桥与世界上其他任何的桥梁不同。
Image by Xinhuanet.
Xianshenhe River gorge.
Xianshenhe Bridge tunnels.
Image by www.jconline.cn.
Xianshenhe Bridge satellite image.
Xianshenhe Bridge location map.