The Wuhai Yellow River Grand Bridge on the Baotou-Yinchuan High-Speed Railway is connected on Oct 9. [Photo/Inner Mongolia News Network]

The final steel box girder of the Wuhai Yellow River Grand Bridge on the Baotou-Yinchuan High-Speed Railway (HSR) was connected on Oct 9, marking a significant milestone in this major engineering project.

Located on the border between Wuhai city in Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Shizuishan city in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the Wuhai Yellow River Grand Bridge spans 2,191 meters and features 51 piers.

Its main span over the Yellow River is 310 meters. This bridge is the first cable-stayed railway bridge over the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia and boasts the tallest and longest span on the entire railway line.

As a large-span high-speed railway hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge, it presents unique challenges: high precision requirements for steel box girder segments, stringent temperature control to prevent cracking in the concrete towers, and complex stress interactions among the cable stays.

The project team has employed intelligent construction technologies to overcome challenges such as transporting large girders across the bridge deck. They also tackled environmental and logistical challenges posed by the Yellow River's windy and sandy conditions and significant temperature fluctuations.

To protect the Yellow River's ecosystem, the construction team implemented comprehensive environmental measures, such as installing mud collection pits, fortifying riverbanks with wire-bound stone cages, regularly cleaning debris from the construction area, and planting greenery around the site.