[blackwasp]

The world's longest sea bridge is scheduled to be opened in October 2018. The 22.9 km bridge is a part of the 55 km long Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge project, which also consists of an undersea tunnel of length 6.7 km and a viaduct of 9.4 km.

The project connects mainland China and Macau with the city state of Hong Kong across the Pearl River Estuary. The project also involved construction of two islands where the undersea tunnel comes out. One of these islands houses the Hong Kong customs. The Hong Kong end of the project connects to the international airport as well.

The construction of this project began in December 2009 on the Chinese side, while from the Hong Kong end, it began 2 years later in 2011. The undersea tunnel was completed by July 2016, while the entire link was formally declared compete in July 2017. It is expected to undergo a 3-day trial before being opened to the public.

Despite connecting two right-hand drive countries, the bridge will follow the left-hand drive convention and a switch over will occur at the respective custom clearance areas. The new road link is expected to cut down an hour long ferry trip to half by bus.





Source: SCMP

Link to the Team-BHP News

[Lone Ranger]

Wow the feats of modern engineering! I used to drive on the King Fahd Causeway (linking Al-Khobar,Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) on a regular basis and I absolutely loved the surreal feeling of cruising over emerald green sea for miles on end. Weekends however were a total avoid because of the insane traffic.

[Chillout]

The travel between Macau and Hong Kong can get pretty rough and i have personally experienced the same. This is an engineering marvel and is best experienced in person.

Just found another reason to head for the casinos. Venetian here I come, god damn, did not notice my wife was standing next to me as I was typing this message, I am as good as

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Despite connecting two right-hand drive countries, the bridge will follow the left-hand drive convention and a switch over will occur at the respective custom clearance areas

Why such a convention??

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Despite connecting two right-hand drive countries, the bridge will follow the left-hand drive convention and a switch over will occur at the respective custom clearance areas.

Originally Posted by arjithin

Why such a convention??

In Hong Kong and Macau they drive on the left side (like in India). But in China they drive on the right side.

So to avoid any confusions and because majority of the bridge falls towards mainland China, authorities decided to follow Chinese traffic rules in the bridge. That is you keep right.

It is really an engineering wonder. Posting this (long) video for those interested in more details about the bridge.

https://youtu.be/SiJyO_EitJk

[V.Narayan]

70 to 130 years ago such biggest, longest, highest ever projects were the preserve of the United States - the transcontinental railroads, the Hoover dam, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Empire Estate building, the Golden Gate bridge, the Panama canal, the inter-state highway system and so on. There is a new sun rising whether we like it or not.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Excellent idea and execution.

Sometime back, a proposal to build a sea bridge across the gulf of Khambat was being discussed. I think it has been discarded now.

[karan561]

The China-Macau bridge might be the longest sea bridge, but China already has Jiaozhou Bay Bridge(Qingdao Bridge);



^ This bridge is operational since December 2012, Guinness World Records lists the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge as the world's longest bridge over water (aggregate length) at 41.58 km (25.84 mi). The longest continuous over-water segment of the bridge is 25.9 km (16.1 mi).

Source

[SCORPION]

What an amazing piece of engineering. Hats off to the Chinese for their vision and their prowess in executing them. Hard to believe they completed it in 8 years!

South China Sea and the South Eastern coast of China can get quite nasty during the typhoon months. Unrestricted storm winds in the open sea is something you have to experience to understand its real fury. Must be a tough job maintaining that bridge. Further, driving on that bridge with a raging sea below must be a scary experience. There may be some restrictions during such times.

The bridge is similar to the Oresund bridge connecting Copenhagen to Malmo, in Sweden. Part of the Oresund bridge also goes below the sea bed as it passes through a narrow strait which is an exit from the Baltic Sea for large ships, called the Great Belt, and also because of its proximity to Copenhagen airport. It is also the longest combined rail and road bridge in Europe. However, in length, it is only a fraction of the Hongkong - Zuhai - Macau bridge.

[GTO]

Mod Note: Thread moved to the International Scene!