Construction of Suspension Bridges Across

the Yangtze River in Jiangsu, China

Lin JI Zhaoxiang FENG
Senior Engineer Senior Engineer
Jiangsu Provincial Yangtze Jiangsu Provincial Yangtze
River Highway Bridge River Highway Bridge
Construction Commanding Construction Commanding
Department Department
Taizhou, CHINA Taizhou, CHINA
ji_wang304@163.com tzbridge@163.com

Lin JI, born 1962, received his Zhaoxiang FENG, born 1968,
civil engineering doctor degree received his civil engineering
from Hohai Univ. doctor degree from Hohai Univ.

Summary
As Jiangsu is located in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River with particular natural conditions
and high navigational clearance requirements, suspension bridges are always one of the preferable bridge
types to consider for crossings of the Yangtze. This paper gives a brief description of bridge type and main
structural details about two completed bridges—the Jiangyin Bridge and the Runyang Bridge—and two
bridges under construction—the Taizhou Bridge and the Nanjing 4th Bridge. This paper also gives a brief
introduction to the design concept and methodology adopted for construction of river-crossing suspension
bridges in Jiangsu and development and progress with regard to choice of main structural system.
Keywords: Jiangsu provincial; Suspension over Jiangsu Yangtze River; multi-span continuous; anchorage.

1. Introduction
Jiangsu, located in the economically-developed and prosperous Yangtze River Delta, is the
place where the Yangtze River and East Sea converge. The province adjoins other
municipalities and provinces including Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Anhui. Its
economy makes heavy demands on both land and water transportation. For a long time, the
Yangtze River hindered communication between its southern and northern banks and
consequently limited economic development of the northern part of Jiangsu. With increasing
demands on transportation as a result of recent social and economic development, a study of
the construction of crossings of the Yangtze River was carried out in Jiangsu province in 1986.
Out of this study, 12 possible locations for bridges and tunnels were selected based on
economic development, transportation, and natural conditions. In 2006, overall planning of
the river crossings in Jiangsu was further adjusted to confirm that there will be a total of 24
river crossings in Jiangsu province. Eleven of these will be highway crossings (Fig.1). In
recent years, five cable-supported bridges across the Yangtze River have been built in Jiangsu,
including two large span suspension bridges (the Jiangyin and Runyang Yangtze River
Highway Bridges, completed in 1999 and 2005 respectively) and three major cable-stayed
bridges (the Nanjing 2nd and 3rd Yangtze River Highway Bridge and the Sutong Yangtze
River Highway Bridge, completed in 2001, 2005, and 2008 respectively). Two bridges
currently under construction are the Taizhou Yangtze River Highway Bridge, which is the first
three-tower suspension bridge in the world with main spans over 1000 m, and the Nanjing 4th
Yangtze River Highway Bridge, which is a twin-tower suspension bridge with the largest
three main spans in China.
With long spans, good seismic performance, light and beautiful appearance, suspension
bridges have been one of the preferred bridge types for major bridges. Since the Yangtze
River is wide as it flows through Jiangsu, many bridges across the Yangtze River in this
province are long span cable-supported bridges to satisfy relevant requirements including
navigation, landscape, environment, ecological protection, and economic development. This
paper briefly introduces development of suspension bridges in Jiangsu province.

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Fig.1: Blueprint for Highway River Crossings in Jiangsu Province
2. Jiangyin Yangtze River Highway Bridge
The Jiangyin Bridge carries traffic from two national expressways: the Tongjiang-Sanya
Expressway and the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway. It is the first bridge with a main span
greater than 1000 m to be built in Jiangsu. The bridge is located in the narrowest part of the
Yangtze River in Jiangsu (width here is only 1400 m and river width upstream are
downstream increases rapidly to over 2500 m). The deep channel of the river lies more to the
south with water depth of approximately 60 m. Water depth at the middle of the river is
approximately 30 m and the part within 200 m of the north bank is a shoal area with water
depth less than 10 m. In order to maintain stable morphology, control impact to flood
discharge and navigation, and avoid ship collision with bridge piers, a single-span
double-hinge steel box girder suspension bridge with span arrangement of 336.5 m+1385
m+309.34 m was adopted to cross the Yangtze River.
2.1 Main Cable and Suspender Cables
The sag to span ratio for the main cable is 1/10.5. The main cable is made of prefabricated
parallel wire stand. In the main span, the main cable consists of 169 wire strands. An
additional eight backstays are installed in side spans. Each wire stand consists of 127 high
strength galvanized steel wires with diameter of 5.35 mm, strength of 1600 MPa and length of
2180 m. Suspender cables are made of parallel high strength galvanized steel wire strands
with a spacing of 16 m. Suspender cables with length over 10 m are made of 5 mm diameter
parallel steel wire strands. Other suspender cables are made of 80 mm diameter steel wire
ropes to reduce rigidity and resist fatigue.
2.2 Main Girder and Its Supporting System
The main girder has a flat and streamlined closed box-type cross section as determined by
wind tunnel tests. The cross-section is 3 m deep and 33.1 m wide. Total width with additional
overhanging fairings is 36.9 m. The top plate and upper web plate are 12 mm thick. The lower
web plate and bottom plate are 10 mm thick. The U-troughs use 6 mm thick plate.
One pair of vertical bearings is installed at lower cross beam for two pylons. In addition,
anti-wind bearings are installed inside the pylon to restrict vertical and transverse linear
movement of main girder as well as angular displacement about the bridge axis.
2.3 Pylon and Anchor Block
According to general layout, the south pylon is founded on bare sandstone bedrock adjacent
to south bank, which is inclined toward the middle of the river. The foundation is supported
by 24 bored piles socketed into the rock, 3.0 m in diameter and 35 m long. In order to ensure
structural stability and sufficient force transfer depth, treatment of vertical force transfer
failure was provided at 10m area around pile top.
The south anchor block, located in mountain massif, is a gravity-type rock-embedded anchor
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as determined by development of rock joints. The front part of this anchor block is an inclined
section with a notched sill to increase slip-resistance capacity and hence to reduce quantity of
concrete required.
Quaternary sediments on the north bank of river at the bridge location have a layer thickness
of 80 to 120 m, the upper part of which is a water saturated soft layer with poor consolidation,
which transitions to medium and coarse sand with increasing depth. The north pylon
foundation is supported by 96 rock-embedded bored piles with average pile length of 85 m
and diameter of 2 m. Both south and north pylons are reinforced concrete frame structures
with height of 186 m and 183 m respectively. The three cross beams are prestressed concrete
structures.
The north anchor resists a 640 MN tension from the main cable. In order to satisfy stability
and small displacement requirements, a solution with a gravity-type anchor block supported
by a caisson foundation was selected. A medium and coarse sandy layer 50 m below the
ground level was used as the bearing stratum. The caisson has a dimension of 69 m×51 m, and
is divided into 36 compartments of height 58 m, divided into 11 sections. The lowest section
of the anchor block is 8 m high. In order to reduce uneven settlement during construction of
the caisson, the 5m of concrete behind the anchor block was not placed until the reinforced
girder was erected.
3．Runyang Yangtze River Highway Bridge
The Runyang Bridge across the Yangtze River links the ancient cities of Yangzhou and
Zhenjiang, and carries traffic from two national expressways: the Beijing to Shanghai
Expressway and the Shanghai to Nanjing Expressway. The Yangtze River reach where this
bridge is located is divided into south and north channels by the Shiyezhou islet. The south
channel is the main channel of the Yangtze River with average river width of approximately
1435 m and average water depth of 14 m. As required by stability of river morphology, no
bridge piers could be located in water on both banks of the south channel. The south pylon
was to be located preferably on land above the embankment to ensure the embankment’s
safety. In addition, navigational width in two directions for ocean-going and river vessels was
required to be not less than 390 m and 700 m respectively. In order to minimize impact to
river morphology and ship collision, the preferred location of the north pylon was in the
shallow area to the south of the Shiyezhou islet. Taking all these factors into account, a
single-span double-hinge steel box girder suspension bridge with span arrangement of 470 m
+ 1490 m + 470 m was adopted for south bridge.
3.1 Main Cable and Suspender Cables
The sag to span ratio for main cable is 1/10. Each main cable consists of 184 prefabricated
parallel wire strands with length of 2600 m. Each single wire stand consists of 127 high
strength galvanized steel wires with diameter of 5.30 mm and strength of 1670 MPa. The void
ratio for the main cable at the clamps is 18% and the void ratio away from the clamps is 20%.
The suspender cables are made of parallel high strength galvanized steel wire strands at a
spacing of 16.1 m. Suspender
cables are provided with an
external 6 mm thick polyethylene
sleeve for protection. Each
suspender cable is made of 109–5
mm diameter parallel steel wires.
This bridge is provided with a
rigid central connection between
main cable and girder at midspan
(Fig. 2) to improve force transfer
of short suspender cables. This
connection consists of a 5.00 m
long cast iron cable clamp and a
triangular steel truss.

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Fig.2: Rigid central connection between main cable and girder
3.2 Main Girder and Its Supporting System
The main girder has a flat and streamlined closed box-type cross section. Cross-section depth
is 3 m. The top plate is 32.9 m wide. Maintenance lanes increase total width to 38.7 m. The
main girder is made of Q345D steel. The top plate and inclined web plates are 14 mm thick,
the bottom plate is 10mm thick, and the U-troughs use 8 mm thick plate. The main girder is
provided with a central stabilized plate to improve aerodynamic stability and wind resistance.
Vertical bearings are installed on the lower cross beam of the main pylons. Anti-wind bearings
are installed on the inner faces of the pylons.
3.3 Main Pylon and Anchor Block
The main pylon is a frame structure consisting of three cross beams and two pylon legs with
total height approximately 210 m. The pylon legs have a rectangular cross section with
variable wall thickness in both directions. The main pylon foundation is supported by 32
rock-embedded bored piles with diameter of 2.8 m. Due to significant elevation difference at
the rock stratum where the pylon is located, pile length for south pylon varies from 50.5 m to
79.5 m and pile length for north pylon varies from 45.2 m to 65 m.
Both the south and north anchor blocks are provided with gravity-type structures and a
prestressed anchorage system. The north anchor block is located on the island of Shiyezhou,
only 70 m from the Yangtze River embankment. The upper part of the anchorage location is
covered with thick layer of soft soil and bedrock. The lower part is broken with a varying
degree of weathering. Cracks can be seen in some areas with large undulation and
underground water hydraulically associated with the Yangtze River characterized by high
water level. Under such complicated geological and hydrographic conditions, the north
anchor block has to resist a tension of approximately 6.8 tonnes transferred from main cable.
After numerous investigations and development of multiple alternatives at different stages, a
solution with a rectangular underground continuous wall supporting structure was finally
adopted. The foundation has dimensions of 69×50 m, bottom elevation of -45 m and
excavation depth of 50 m, supported at the top surface of weakly and slightly weathered
bedrock. As a retaining and anti-seepage structure, the underground continuous wall is only
1.2m thick with an average embedded depth of 53 m into bedrock.
The ground freezing method was adopted during construction of the foundation pit for the
south anchor block. Its working mechanism is to utilize a frost curtain wall formed by the
water-containing soil layer as a water-sealing and anti-seepage structure and to establish a
retaining and protection structure consisting of piling and internal bracings to resist water and
earth pressure from outside of foundation pit. In order to reduce freezing expansion against
piling during freezing of the frost curtain wall, a pressure release hole was made at outside of
freezing hole. Grouting will be made at the bottom of the frost wall to minimize the impact to
the wall by underground water vortices at the bottom of foundation pit.
4．Taizhou Yangtze River Highway Bridge
The Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge, 66 km away from the upstream Runyang Bridge and 57
km away from the downstream Jiangyin Bridge, links the cities of Taizhou, Zhenjiang, and
Changzhou. The river where this bridge is located has a width of approximately 2.1 km. The
riverbed has a W-shaped cross section. The deep channel is more inclined toward south bank
with deepest water level of approximately 30 m and water depth in the middle of the river of
approximately 17 m. Both banks of the river where this bridge is located are typical middle
and lower Yangtze River alluvial plains with soft soil and thick cover layer. Embedded depth
of bedrock here is generally below -190 m. There are already some port buildings and
mooring anchorages existing around the bridge location. In order to protect the environment,
minimize impact to flood discharge, expedite development of port and facilitate navigation, a
three-pylon two-span suspension bridge with span arrangement of 390 m + 1080 m×2 + 390
m (fig.3) was proposed. The solution provides fewer bridge piers to reduce obstruction to
water current, ensured sufficient openness of the river after completion of the bridge, has
comparatively relaxed requirements on foundations imposed by the bridge type, and assures
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sufficient margin for technically feasible and economical construction of the bridge. This
proposed solution expands the function of suspension bridges technically. Compared with
traditional two-pylon one span suspension bridges, the proposed solution reduces force in the
main cable and anchor block significantly, thus minimizing the size of these components and
saving cost. As far as force transfer is concerned, a three-pylon two-span suspension bridge
structure is quite different from a simple-supported structure. One more pylon is added in the
middle of main span for two-pylon suspension bridges to relieve stress in the main cable and
anchor blocks. This middle pylon is only a vertical supporting point to support main cable via
a saddle. Under dead load,
390 1080 1080 390
restraint of the middle pylon top
by main cable is weaker than that
of the side pylons. Under
unsymmetrical load, choice of
rigidity of the middle pylon is
subject to anti-slip of main cable, structural displacement, and geometry.
Fig.3: Taizhou Bridge Layout
4.1 Main Cable and Suspender Cables
In order to control main cable tension and reduce the quantity of anchor blocks, the sag to
span ratio for the main cable is taken as 1/9. Each main cable consists of 184 prefabricated
parallel wire strands and each strand consists of 91 high strength galvanized steel wires with
diameter of 5.20 mm and standard tensile strength not less than 1670 MPa. Each strand has a
length of approximately 3100 m. Suspender cables are made of prefabricated parallel high
strength steel wires with diameter of 5.0 mm and tensile strength not less than 1670 MPa.
Suspender cables have a typical spacing of 16 m and pylon center line is 20 m from the
nearest suspender cable.
4.2 Main Girder and Its Supporting System
The main girder has a flat and streamlined closed steel box girder cross section, which is a
single-box three-compartment structure. The main girder is 3.5 m deep with total width of
39.10 m. In order to increase rigidity of deck plate and improve support of deck pavement, the
top plate has a thickness of 16 mm and U-shaped stiffeners with thickness of 8 mm are
installed at heavy-loaded vehicle lanes. A top plate of thickness 14 mm and U-shaped
stiffeners with thickness 6 mm are installed in other areas.
Longitudinal elastic cables are provided at middle pylon to reduce sagging of stiffening girder,
improve force transfer of the middle pylon, and decrease displacement of the stiffening girder
due to longitudinal dynamic load. Vertical blocks are installed at the middle pylon to limit
torsion vibration of main girder and reduce vibration amplitude under action of wind load.
Transverse anti-wind bearings are installed at each main pylon to restrain transverse
displacement of stiffening girder. In addition, a vertical bearing is installed at the lower cross
beam of the two side pylons.
4.3 Main Pylon and Foundation
According to the force transfer mechanism of a three-pylon
suspension bridge, the middle pylon must be sufficiently rigid
along the bridge direction with proper flexibility and sufficient
bending rigidity. After calculation and comparison of multiple
structural forms, a longitudinal Y-shaped and transversely
portal-type frame steel pylon, with height 200 m, was selected
for the middle pylon (Fig.4).
The foundation for the middle pylon, located in the center of
the river, is a caisson structure with standard cross section
dimension of 58 m×44 m. It has a total height of 76 m,
consisting of two parts. The lower part is a prefabricated
rectangular steel-shelled structure and the upper part is a
Fig.4: Structural Diagram of Steel Pylon concrete caisson with each length of 38 m. The
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first section of steel-shelled caisson is prefabricated on shore, extended to a full height of 38
m in water, integrally floated and tugged to pier position, placed into the riverbed by injection
of water, followed by casting concrete in divided chambers of the steel-shelled structure,
extending by section to section concrete casting and after reaching design elevation, making
under-water concrete casting to complete the foundation construction.
With a view to good landscaping effect, a concrete frame structure with two pylon legs and
two cross beams was transversely adopted for the side pylons and a solution with variant
height of three pylons was adopted. To be exact, the middle pylon is 20 m higher than side
pylons.
The side pylon foundation is supported by 46 friction piles each with length of 2.8 m. Pile
length for the south and north pylons is 98 m and 103 m respectively.

4.4 Anchor Block

The south and north anchor blocks are both a combination of gravity-type anchor block and
caisson. The caisson has a dimension of 67.9×52 m (length by width for the first section of the
caisson is 68.3 ×52.4 m). Caisson height for the north anchor block and the south anchor
block are 57 m and 41 m respectively. The first section of the caisson is a steel-shelled
concrete caisson with a height of 8 m. Other sections are reinforced concrete caissons.
Foundation bottom elevation for the caisson of the north anchor block and the south anchor
block are -55 m and -39 m respectively, located in a dense fine silty sand stratum.
5. Nanjing 4th Yangtze River Highway Bridge
The Nanjing 4th Yangtze River Bridge is an important part of China’s national expressway
network and also an integral part of Nanjing Bypass Expressway. The part of river where this
bridge is located has a width of 2230 m. The riverbed has a single U-shaped cross section
with navigation width of 1750 m. A solution with a twin-pylon three-span continuous
suspension bridge with main span of 1418 m and span arrangement of 166 m + 417 m + 1418
m + 357 m + 122 m was proposed and accepted to be final design scheme with a view to
flood prevention, navigation, waterway management, restraint from surrounding environment
and avoiding impact by Jiaoshan Mountain and Mufushan Mountain fault zone 300 m away
from the embankment at south bank.
5.1 Main Cable and Suspender Cables
The sag to span ratio for the main cable is 1/9. The main cable is made of prefabricated
parallel wire stands and each cable consists of 135 strands. Additional 6 wire strands
(backstays) are installed at the north side span and 8 backstays are installed at south side span.
Each single wire stand consists of 127 high strength galvanized steel wires with diameter of
5.35 mm and standard tensile strength of 1770 MPa.
Each support point of the girder is provided with two suspender cables consisting of parallel
wire strands with a standard strength of 1670 MPa. A main cable movement-limiting device, a
steel chain rod structure bolted by pin and hinge, is installed at the transition pier to the main
bridge.
5.2 Main Girder and Its Supporting System
The main girder is a flat and streamlined steel box girder. It is 3.5 m deep with total width of
38.8 m (including fairing). In the heavy-loaded outside vehicle lanes, the top plate has a
thickness of 16 mm and the U-troughs are made of plate with thickness of 8 mm. At other
locations, top plate thickness is 14 mm and U-trough thickness is 6 mm.
Transverse anti-wind bearings, vertical elastic movement-restraint supports and longitudinal
movement-restraint damping devices are installed at pylons.
5.3 Anchor Block

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 The anchor body is a wall-like
structure with upstream and
downstream anchor body
separated from each other. The
top of the anchor is 28.7 m above
the ground. The north anchor
area is on a flood plain with very
deep embedded depth. The
foundation is an integral
rectangular caisson with a
dimension of 58×69 m and
embedded depth below 58.2 m.
The south anchor area has a very
shallow embedded depth of
Fig.5 Improved Post-Anchorage Beam Anchor Block bedrock. The foundation is a
“∞”continuous wall structure with a dimension of 59.0×82.0
m. An advanced post anchorage beam system is adopted to
anchor the main cable and reinforced concrete shear keys in a
steel-concrete composite structure are introduced into the
anchorage system to relax the anti-corrosion requirement and
improve structural durability (Fig. 5).
5.4 Main Pylon
The main pylon is a composite concrete pylon (Fig 6) with a
height of 229.4 m. Center-to-center distance between legs at
pylon top and pylon bottom are 34 m and 45.5 m respectively.
The pylon has a cross-shaped cross section with variable width
from pylon bottom to pylon top along the direction
perpendicular to the bridge direction and variable width from
Fig.6 Pylon Perspective pylon top to bottom along the bridge direction. The structure
above main girder is an arched structure with arch placed at 10
m above golden section of the pylon. A lower arch and upper cross beam are integrated as a
whole to share the force transfer. The arched girder and vertical rods are steel. The pylon
foundation is supported by a high pile cap.
6. Features and Development of Suspension Bridges in Jiangsu
It has been more than one decade for construction of long span suspension bridges in Jiangsu,
starting from completion of the Jiangyin Bridge, the first suspension bridge with main span
over 1000 m in mainland China, to the commencement of construction of the Taizhou Bridge,
the first multiple-tower and continuous span suspension bridge with main span over 1000m in
the world. In this one decade, great changes have taken place in design concept and
methodology, choice of main structure and construction techniques for construction of long
span suspension bridges.
6.1 Bridge Type and Structural System
As the reach of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu features wide width, severe navigational
requirements, numerous influential factors including river morphology, hydrology,
surrounding environment, flood discharge and ship impact, most of the suspension bridges
built or to be built in Jiangsu will have main span more than 1000 m. Accordingly, the bridge
type has been gradually developing from traditional simple-supported systems to multi-span
continuous systems. Development of new model multi-pylon continuous span suspension
bridge structural systems and studies of the underlying theory correspond to the pursuit of
innovative bridge structural systems worldwide and will provide references for construction
of extra-long span river-crossing projects in the future.
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 6.2 Anti-wind Design Methodology
Through construction of several long span suspension bridges in Jiangsu, a complete set of
mature anti-wind design research procedures have been developed in China, including
Non-linear Geometry Based Static Wind Stability Analysis Program, Flutter and Buffeting
Time-domain Analysis Program and Numeric Simulation Methods Based on Discrete Vortex
and Large-eddy Simulation. See Table 1 below for anti-wind design methods and analysis
methods for various bridges.
Table 1: Development of Anti-wind Design
Jiangyin Bridge Nanjing 4th
Item and Runyang Taizhou Bridge Remarks
Bridge
Bridge
Flutter Allowable Stress Allowable Stress Allowable Stress Performance-based
Assessm Method Method + Method anti-wind design method
ent Performance-bas can clarify condition of
Design ed Anti-wind the structure under
Method Design Method different probability
events from the angle of
structural performance.
Flutter Vertical-bending 3D Coupling Vertical-bending 3D coupling analysis
Analysis and Torsional and Torsional method can take coupling
Method Mode of Mode of effect of various modes
Vibration Vibration of vibration into
consideration.
Vortex-in Small-scale Small-scale Large-scale Large-scale model can
duced Section Model Section Model Section Model better reappear
Vibration Test Test Test vortex-induced vibration.
Test
Method
Wind Buffet Equivalent 3D Coupling Buffet Equivalent 3D coupling non-linear
Load Wind Load Non-linear Wind Load buffeting analysis method
Research Buffeting can take geometric
Method Analysis Method non-linear and
aerodynamic non-linear
into account.

6.3 Concept of Seismic Design

Two-level seismic design methods widely used in China are adopted for seismic design in the
Jiangyin Bridge and the Runyang Bridge. However, for the Taizhou Bridge, a new seismic
design concept based on service life and seismic performance was proposed for the first time
to clarify four-level seismic action and corresponding three-level seismic performance targets
with a view to different significance, ease of repair, ease of replacement, and ease of
inspection of bridge structural members and the extent of difficulty to repair bridges damaged
during an earthquake. Moreover, a correlation between ground motion and relevant seismic
performance was proposed on the basis of analysis of significance, ease of repair, ease of
replacement, and ease of inspection of bridge structural members and study of structural
vulnerability and risk of collapse during an earthquake.
6.4 Selection of Anchor Block and Its Foundation
Most locations where bridges are built are covered with a thick layer of soil due to the
particular geographical location of Jiangsu. It has always been the top priority to establish a
stable anchor block on soft and weak alluvial plains during construction of suspension bridges
in Jiangsu. A combination between gravity-type anchor blocks and large deep foundation
structures is normally adopted for suspension bridges to resist significant horizontal force
from the main cable. In addition, deep foundations or anchor blocks will be established on a
8
stratum with relatively favorable geologic conditions to provide sufficient friction to resist
horizontal force from the main cable. After extensive study, diversified forms of anchor block
foundation have been designed (table 2) and implemented to establish a complete set of
advanced construction techniques.
Table 2: Anchor Block and Its Foundation Forms for Suspension Bridges in Jiangsu
Main Volume of Foundation
Thickness of Foundation
Cable Single Anchorage
Project Cover Layer Construction Embedded
Tension Anchor System
(m) 3 Method Depth
(MN) Block (m )
Jiangyin 78-86 640 66000 Rectangular 58(North) Prestressing
Bridge (North) (North) caisson(North) anchorage
system
Runyang Approximately 680 58000 Rectangular 48m (North) Prestressing
Bridge 50m (North) underground 29m (South) anchorage
Approximately continuous system
30m (South) wall (North)
Frost-pile-row
method (South)
Taizhou Approximately 340 41000 Rectangular 57（North） Prestressing
Bridge 200m caisson 41（South） anchorage
system
Nanjing Approximately 532 56512 Rectangular 40（North） Improved
4th 65m（North） underground 58（South） post-anchorage
Bridge Approximately continuous beam
43m（South） wall (North) anchorage
Rectangular system
caisson(North)
6.5 Steel Deck Pavement Study
Steel deck pavement has always been a very critical issue for the construction of suspension
bridges as climate is adverse and heavy-loaded and over-loaded trucks are prevalent in
Jiangsu. Earlier bridge deck pavement studies mainly aimed at pavement materials and
structures, however, after construction and operation of many bridges, researchers are paying
more and more attention to studying structural and loading dynamic performance of
suspension bridges and impact to bridge deck pavement design by the integral structural
system of the steel box girder.
6.6 Protection of Steel Structure Against Corrosion
Protection of steel structures against corrosion is very critical to ensure their durability.
Starting from the Jiangyin Bridge, measures to protect against corrosion have already been
implemented for components such as stiffening girders, main cables, suspender cables and
ancillary facilities. These protection measures include painting and coating with high quality
products and the provision of a dehumidifier in box girders, anchor boxes, and saddle covers.
A new protection system with combination of S-shaped galvanized steel wires and
dehumidification by dry air was introduced in the Runyang Bridge. It is the first time to use
epoxy coated steel strand in prestressing anchorage systems for anchor blocks, which will
take advantage of anti-corrosion, alkalinity-resistant and erosion-proof performance of the
material itself to enhance structural durability.
6.7 Structural Concrete Durability
Studies on the mechanisms of structural concrete deterioration have evolved from a focus on
single factors in the design of the Jiangyin Bridge to studies considering multiple factors and
taking coupling effects of mechanical and environmental factors into account in the design of
the Runyang Bridge, and further to focus on the transfer of environmental action to
mechanical action in the design of the Taizhou Bridge. Progress made in these studies will
9
help transform the study of durability from a study of materials to a study of structures.
7. Conclusive Remarks and Future Prospectives
In response to the natural environment and navigation requirements, suspension bridges have
become the pre-eminent structural solution for bridges across the Yangtze in Jiangsu. With a
view to new planning of river crossings, a summary has been presented on the basis of
available experience, demonstrating courageous innovation, study and popularization of new
theories, new materials, new structural systems, new technology and new equipment to meet
possible challenges ahead. In the future, more emphasis will be put on environmental
protection, aesthetics, and structural durability to satisfy increasingly complex requirements
from society.

References
[1] Zhou Shizhong, General Introduction of Construction of Bridges over Yangtze River in
Jiangsu, Shanghai Highways No.2. 2005 P27-31;
[2] Zhou Shizhong, Prospect of Construction of Bridges over Yangtze River in Jiangsu,
Jiangsu Construction Periodical 92, Supplement in 2003, P45-47;
[3] Zhou Shizhong, Development of Suspension Bridges in China, Bridge Construction, 2003,
29(5): P30-34;
[4] Wu Shengdong et al, Suspension Bridge part of Collection of Construction of Runyang
Bridge;
[5] Zhou Shizhong, Technical Summary of Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, China Science and
Technology Press, 2005;

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