By Esther Amao

Copyright tribuneonlineng

The world’s tallest bridge has officially opened to traffic in Guizhou Province, Southwest China, transforming travel across the mountainous region.

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which soars 625 meters above the Beipan River, was inaugurated on Sunday morning after three years of construction. The project reduces travel time across the deep canyon from nearly two hours to just two minutes.

Standing almost nine times taller than San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the structure spans 2,890 meters with a main span of 1,420 meters. Authorities say it now holds the record as the world’s longest-span steel truss girder suspension bridge in mountainous terrain.

The bridge stretches across the Huajiang Grand Canyon, often referred to as “the Earth’s crack,” and is the latest milestone in China’s ambitious infrastructure expansion.

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According to Zhang Yin, head of the provincial transportation department, the project is a “landmark achievement” showcasing China’s innovation. It incorporates 21 patented technologies and multiple breakthroughs in wind-resistance and high-altitude construction.

Engineers overcame the challenges of the canyon by deploying advanced tools, including drones, satellite navigation, smart monitoring systems, and ultra-high-strength materials, achieving millimeter-level precision in construction.

Guizhou, one of China’s least developed provinces, has become known as the “bridge capital of the world,” with over 30,000 bridges built across its rugged terrain.

The province is home to nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges, and the combined length of its completed and ongoing bridge projects now exceeds 5,400 kilometers, almost equivalent to the distance from China’s north to south.

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