Longest sea bridge opens in China

Longest sea bridge opens in China

The world's longest sea bridge, spanning 36.48 km across the mouth of the Jiaozhou Bay in eastern Shandong Province, opened to traffic on Thursday, four years after construction started.

The 14.8-billion-yuan ($2.3-billion) bridge connects urban Qingdao with the city's less-developed district of Huangdao. Authorities expect the project to boost the development of an industrial zone in Huangdao and to facilitate the rise of foreign trade by increasing the port's handling capacity.

Han Shouxin, deputy director of Qingdao's traffic management committee, said the bridge would shorten the route between Huangdao and urban Qingdao by 30 km, cutting the travel time down from over 40 minutes to around 20 minutes.

Before the project's completion, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge across the bay of Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang Province, was considered the world's longest sea bridge. On Thursday, Qingdao officials also announced the completion of a 9.47-km-long undersea tunnel that runs parallel to the bridge. 

soyrce: http://www.allcurrentaffairs.tk/2011/07/longest-sea-bridge-opens-in-china.html#ixzz1R7ldqy2q