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The sound of explosions, the smoke dissipated, and the bridge in Nalu Village, Guangxi, was reduced to ashes on March 13.
On this route, there are a total of 15 bridges with the same fate, which are not in disrepair and cannot be used, but make way for the long-awaited Pinglu Canal.
Is it worth tearing down 15 bridges in a row in order to build a canal? The bridge is demolished, what should the people here do?
The first canal in the founding of the country
Today, the mainland has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, highway network and postal express network. The total mileage of the transportation network exceeds 6 million kilometers, and the development of transportation has narrowed the distance between various places and stimulated the economy everywhere.
But such traffic is uneven, with railways and aviation leading the way and shipping lagging behind.
In terms of waterway shipping, there are only three artificial canals in the mainland, namely the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the Sui-Tang Canal, and the Zhedong Canal, all of which were built thousands of years ago.
In August 2022, a 134.2-kilometer-long Pinglu Canal with an investment of 72.7 billion yuan started construction at the mouth of the Pingtang River in Xijinku District, Hengzhou City, Nanning, Guangxi, and ended in Beibu Gulf.
Why was this canal dug out? The answer is simple, save the trouble of detours and promote economic development.
In Guangxi, although there is the Xijiang River, the third largest river in China, it cannot enjoy its benefits, and the transportation of goods in most places must first be transported to the Beibu Gulf by rail, so that they can be exported overseas by shipping.
Such a detour greatly increases the cost of transportation.
On the other hand, the congestion of the Xijiang River system is becoming more and more serious, and new channels are needed to alleviate it.
According to reports, the Wuzhou Changzhou Water Conservancy Hub Lock, an important choke point of the Xijiang River system, has exceeded 180 million tons of cargo as of 2023, higher than the Three Gorges Hub and the largest natural river in the mainland.
Huge goods are crowded here, and Xijiang is already overwhelmed. Only the excavation of the Pinglu Canal can reduce the burden on the Xijiang water system.
Of course, the merits of the Pinglu Canal are not only that, but it also has three important significances.
First, although Guangxi has a well-developed water system, there are no rivers that are directly navigable into the sea, and the Pinglu Canal will change this situation after it is put into operation.
Second, the area is surrounded by mountain loops, and it takes a lot of money for goods to go to sea, and the journey through the Pinglu Canal is at least 560 kilometers shortened, which greatly reduces the transportation cost and time.
Third, with the completion of the Pinglu Canal, the Pinglu Canal Economic Belt will be built along the way, which will drive the development of petrochemical industry, equipment manufacturing, new metal materials and other industries along the route.
In general, the Pinglu Canal is an important project to benefit the people, which can reduce the cost of cargo transportation and bring greater economic benefits.
Build rivers and dismantle bridges
The most regrettable thing about the construction of the Pinglu Canal is the demolition of some old bridges.
On March 13, with a burst of artillery fire, the first simply supported girder bridge to be demolished using blasting fell.
On May 21, the only stone arch bridge in the main urban area of Qinzhou, Qinjiang Bridge, was also sentenced to "death" after on-site inspections by experts from multiple departments.
Qinjiang Bridge, is the oldest cross-river bridge in Qinzhou City, built in 1958, there was no large machinery in that era, the whole bridge, are built by manpower little by little.
The sturdy young man who built the bridge back then is now dying, and every time he stands at the head of the bridge, he can always reappear in time, and see the scene of carrying stones on his shoulders and carrying stones little by little.
The bridge was completed and opened to traffic in 1961, the bridge is 13 meters wide, two-way lanes, and now more than 60 years have passed, the bridge has experienced many large torrents, many times hundreds of tons of strong pressure tests, and is still tough and upright, just like the beginning.
Such a bridge, if not demolished, can continue to be used for decades, but unfortunately it has become a roadblock for the Pinglu Canal.
The design requirements of the Pinglu Canal are to be built according to the standards of Class I waterways, with a navigable capacity of more than 5,000 tons, which is a major test for the 31 bridges in its basin.
Of these 31 bridges, 15 are difficult to meet this demand, and if they are to be kept, they will have to lower the navigation standards of the Pinglu Canal.
The standard of navigation is lowered, the cargo that can be pulled by ships is also reduced, the economic efficiency is reduced, and the value of the canal is greatly reduced.
The construction of the Pinglu Canal is in the present era and will benefit the future generations, and it should not bring big losses because of small interests. So the demolition of the bridge is a must.
After the bridge was demolished, it was not to leave it alone and cut off the people along the way, but to build a new bridge.
In the transitional stage when the old bridge was demolished and the new bridge was not built, there was a Baotong Bridge to ensure the traffic on both sides of the strait.
Although it is only a temporary transition, the Baotong Bridge was designed to take congestion into account and was built wider than the original, with motorized and non-motorized lanes.
According to Chen Zhao, deputy general manager of Guangxi Pingluyun Deterioration Construction Co., Ltd., "Baotong Bridge should not only be built, but also built better than the old bridge."
On May 21, the Baotong Bridge on Nanzhu Street in Qinzhou was put into operation, and the traffic on the old bridge was transferred to the newly built Baotong Bridge.
The new bridge is responsible for transportation, and the old bridge can fall safely.
It is difficult to say how many generations the canal under the bridge can benefit, but this great cause of splitting mountains and opening up roads is far higher than the value of several bridges.
Current status of the Pinglu Canal
The Pinglu Canal was approved in July 2022 and construction began on August 28, with an estimated construction period of 52 months and will be completed and put into use by 2026.
Now that 22 months have passed, and almost half of the construction period is approaching, what is the whole canal project?
According to He Junhui, director of the engineering management department of the Pinglu Canal Group, there are about 19,800 people who are now engaged in the construction of the Pinglu Canal, and more than 6,500 large machinery and equipment have been invested.
At present, the total image investment has been 32.97 billion yuan, accounting for 45.3% of the total investment of the project, and the cumulative excavation of earth and stone is about 203 million cubic meters, accounting for 60% of the total excavation.
In general, the construction period is close to half, and the amount of work to be completed is also halfway, and the construction of the project is progressing steadily, and the canal will be put into use in 2026, which is a certainty.
On the other hand, the Longmen Bridge, the longest sea-crossing bridge in Guangxi at the mouth of the Pinglu Canal, is also under construction.
On December 16, 2021, the amount of one-time continuous pouring of anchorage core filling on the west bank of the Longmen Bridge broke the record of 47,000 cubic meters set on the east bank and reached 58,600 cubic meters.
This breakthrough once again set a new record for the largest single continuous irrigation volume of a bridge in the world, which is worthy of praise.
On the morning of January 8 this year, the main channel of the Longmen Bridge, which began construction at both ends, was successfully closed in the middle, and it is expected to be opened to traffic by the end of this year.
After the Longmen Bridge is put into operation, the travel time between Fangcheng Port and Qinzhou Port will be reduced by at least one hour, and the speed of cross-strait transportation will be accelerated, bringing about new economic growth.
The Pinglu Canal leads to the sea, and the Longmen Bridge connects the two banks. Human beings are small, and it takes tens of billions of dollars to dismantle a few bridges to dig out the canal, but it can't compare to the thousands of years of nature and the vicissitudes of life.
However, the merits cannot be erased, although the Pinglu Canal does not have a long history of the great rivers in nature, and the momentum is huge, but it is a stroke of God, connecting the economic arteries and moistening tens of millions of people.
That's the greatness of an ordinary river.
Resources:
[1] "Keep Refreshing! With an investment of about 72.7 billion yuan, the first canal after the founding of the People's Republic of China is coming" Interface News 2024-06-13
[2] "Walking the Pinglu Canal (5)丨What should I do if the bridge is demolished? "Not only to build, but also to build better than the old bridge!" 》2024-05-28 | Author: Luo Jimei | Source: Guangxi News Network-Guangxi Daily
[3] "The Stone Arch Bridge Built in the 50s on the Pinglu Canal is About to Be Demolished", Guangxi Maritime Affairs, 2024-05-22
[4] "The First Blasting and Demolition Bridge of the Pinglu Canal Successfully Bold", China Blasting Industry Association, 2024-03-15
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