The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (Hzmb) bridge of China is a megaproject whose construction began in 2009. The infrastructure joins the Chinese semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macao with the southeast city of Zhuhai, and is the largest in the world over the sea.
Currently, in addition, it holds several world records and is designed to last 120 years. This bridge of about 55 kilometers crosses the Lingdingyang and Jiuzhou channels in the Perla River estuary, according to the media .
It is composed of a series of three stood, an underwater tunnel and four artificial islands, before which it is not surprising that the project has cost the exorbitant sum of 17.6 billion euros in total. This bridge currently owns the record of the longest maritime journey and the fixed lighter link in the world.
Before the HZMB was built, the journey between Hong Kong and Zhuhai used to last four hours. Now, users can cover the distance in just 30 minutes thanks to this infrastructure that is open 24 hours a day.
The section of the structure viaduct consists of three attired bridges: the qingzhou channel bridge, the Jianghai channel bridge and the Jiuzhou channel bridge. The first has the longest length, about 460 meters.
For its part, the steel tower of the Jianghai channel bridge weighs around 3,100 tons, and the bridge platforms total a total of 420,000 tons, which is equivalent to the weight of 60 Eiffel towers.
Meanwhile, the tunnel is in an open sea section with a maximum depth of 45 meters, with a standard tunnel segment of about 180 meters long by 38 meters wide and 11 meters high. Each piece, prefabricated and brought by a tugboat, weighs 80,000 tons.
The tunnel was incorporated into the design to allow the passage of ships and runs between two artificial islands, Blue Dolphin Island to the West and White Dolphin Island to the east.
