Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge

The Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is a bridge across the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. It is located northeast of the historic central area of the city's Hankou District and is the northern crossing for the Inner Ring Road. It is a cable-stayed bridge built of pre-stressed concrete, and has a central span of. It is in length and is wide. Its main bridgeheads are high each, pulling 392 thick slanting cables together in the shape of double fans, so that the central span of the bridge is well-balanced on the piers and the bridge's stability and vibration resistance are ensured.

History

The bridge was completed in 1995 with four lanes of traffic capable of handling 50,000 vehicles per day. The bridge featured a median reserved for a branch line of the then planned Wuhan Metro Line 1. By the 2000s, due to growth in population of Wuhan, actual traffic demand using the bridge averaged 100,000 vehicles per day, peaking at 190,000 daily vehicles. The metro line reservation was removed in 2003 when the bridge was renovated and expanded to six lanes. With the opening of the Erqi Yangtze River Bridge downstream in 2011 typical traffic using the Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was 120,000 vehicles per day.