China
Toray Sakai Weaving & Dyeing (Nantong) Co., Ltd. (TSD)
Four "Number Ones" for Sutong Bridge (04/18/2008)

View from the center of the Sutong Bridge

Sutong Bridge was recently opened on April 18 at the mouth of Yangtze River the crossing between Shanghai and Nantong. Prior to its official opening, we were invited to inspect the bridge as one of representatives of the Japanese companies in the Nantong Development Area.

Before the completion of the bridge, people used to cross the Yangtze River by car ferry which are often cancelled due to bad weather and people must take 100km of roundabout routes over the Jiangyin Bridge in Nanjing Direction down to Shanghai. It took more than three hours to get to the Toray Industries (China) Co., Ltd. (TCH)’s office in Shanghai from’s Nantong Factory, but with this new bridge, it takes only two hours.

Construction of the bridge started in 2003 at both ends Suzhou City and Nantong City and met up in the middle on June 18, 2007, completing the 32.4km. On May 25, the Olympic torchbearers crossed the bridge.

This big bridge is now widely known for four “number ones in the world”. They are; the length of the main span (1,088m), the height of the main concrete tower (300.4m), the length of the longest cables (557m) as cable-stayed bridge, and the height of the foundation of the bridge girders of the main tower (120m). With four number ones in the world, the bridge enabled China to leap from the nation of many bridges to the nation with bridge power.

 

(By Shinji Kiriyama, Counselor, Production Dept.)