China starts construction of 'world's longest' bridge

Construction of what will be the world's longest cross-sea bridge started in China on Tuesday. The bridge linking China's southern economic hub of Guangdong Province to Hong Kong and Macao is expected to bring significant economic gains for the region.

The six-lane Y-shaped bridge across southern China's Pearl River delta will be jointly constructed by the three cities Hong Kong, Macao and the city of Zhuhai in Gaundong Province, over a period of six years and will be one of the most technically challenging engineering projects. It will entail the creation of several artificial islands.

It will have a standard six-lane expressway, which will allow vehicles to run at a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour.

According to engineers, the bridge will have a service life of 120 years and will be able to withstand a wind speed of 51 meters per second or equal to a maximum Beaufort scale of 16. The bridge, which will cost $10.7 billion, will be able to withstand the impact of an earthquake of magnitude 8 and a 300,000-tonne vessel.
 
The completion of the bridge will cut the current three-hour trek from the cities of Zhuhai or Macao to Hong Kong to around 30 minutes.

The bridge will span a distance of almost 50 km, of which about 35 km will be built over the sea.

The cost of the bridge will be shared between the authorities on the mainland, Macao and Hong Kong, who have pledged to consider the environmental factors during the six-year construction period.

The 36km bridge that spans the Hangshau Bay in the East China Sea is currently the longest bridge in the world.