JAW-DROPPING footage shows mountains in south-west China sliced in half to make way for a highway – and the world’s tallest bridge.
With over 92 percent of Guizhou province covered in mountains, engineers building the 2,050ft Huajiang Canyon Bridge had little choice but to shave off mountain peaks.
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Part of the 190-mile Guizhou Luan Expressway, the bridge cuts through the region’s rugged terrain.
Guizhou is located around 800 miles west of the city of Shenzhen.
Set to open in late 2025, the bridge will become the world’s highest – towering 2,051 feet above the canyon floor.
The engineering feat transforms a once hour-long, winding mountain drive into a one-minute sky-high crossing.
The primary load-bearing steel truss structure of the bridge is built from 93 segments and weighs around 22,000 metric tonnes – three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
In January, builders installed the final steel reinforcement – weighing 215 tonnes – which will help support the heavy loads going across the structure.
Chen Jianlei, deputy director of Guizhou Transport Department told China Daily at the time: “The completion of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will strengthen economic ties between [neighbouring cities] Guiyang, Anshun and Qianxinan, fostering regional economic integration.”
Li Zhao, chief engineer of the project, previously said that seeing his project come to life gives him “a profound sense of achievement and pride.”
Work on the £227 million project began in January 2022.
The bridge is expected to open in the coming months.
As of April, it was 95 percent complete, according to Zhang Shenglin, chief engineer at Guizhou Highway Group, who spoke to China Daily.
Until it opens, the Beipanjiang Bridge in Guizhou province – around 200 miles north of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge – will hold on to the title of the world’s tallest.
It has four lanes of traffic and stands 1788 feet over the Beipan River.
Nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges are in Guizhou.
Meanwhile, in October last year construction began on Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower, which is the world’s tallest skyscraper.
Once completed, it will stand 3,280ft high – three times taller than the Shard and will dwarf all other developments.
But Saudi Arabia is already planning another jaw-dropping skyscraper.
The Rise Tower is set to soar 1.2 miles into the sky – doubling the height of the world’s current tallest building, Dubai‘s Burj Khalifa and even surpassing the long-awaited Jeddah Tower.
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