Shenzheng-Zhongshan mega sea link

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan fixed sea link highway across the Pearl River estuary in China is currently under construction. Connecting Shenzhen inthe east with the cities of Zhongshan and Guangzhou Nansha in the west,the 24km long ShenZhong link passes over and under three of the busiestshipping lanes of the world on a suspension bridge with a main span of1,666m, a cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 580m and transitionson two man-made islands into a 5km long immersed tube structure and a485m cut-and-cover section extending from the east landfall nearShenzhen. The link is a highway of four lanes in each direction, eightlanes in total, with one special element of six lanes in each direction.Designed for traffic speeds of 100km/hr and a design life of 100 years,the link is scheduled to open to traffic in 2024. Members of theShenZhong Link Administration Center, Liu Jian, Chen Yue, Jin Wenliangand Song Shenyou, highlight the design and construction of the widestimmersed tube tunnel in the world.

The immersed tube section of the link between the east and west man-made islands of about 370,000m2 and 130,000m2 respectively, consists of 32elements of 10.6m high x 46m wide and 165m long with a special 55m wide x123m long 12 lane element and a 2m long closure joint. The west and east transition islands and the 485m cut-and-cover sectionat the east landfall were completed before sinking of the immersed tubeelements began.

Read the full article to know of the technologies employed to create the man-made islands and the steel-concrete-steel composite structureimmersed tube elements and the two different methods of positioning andlowering the elements into the seabed trench.

The new Shenzhen-Zhongshan sea link highway in relation to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao link