World’s Longest Sea Bridge in China Has Enough Steel to Make 60 Eiffel Towers

This engineering wonder, which links Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China via Zhuhai, took eight years to build – plus six years of preparation before that, according to Chinese media Xinhua. The majority of the work was completed last December 2017, but the bridge remains unfinished.

It was reported that 420,000 tonnes of steel were used to create the 55 kilometers (34 miles) bridge. The amount of steel used here is equivalent to the numbers used in the Eiffel Tower times 60, which is believed to be at about 7,000 tonnes.

Aside from its snaking roads, the HKZM bridge also has an underwater tunnel that stretches out up to 6.7 kilometers (4.1 miles). The building of this part of the bridge proved to be quite a problem for the project planning manager, Gao Xinglin.

“There were many nights where I couldn’t fall asleep, because there were too many difficulties during the construction,” he told reporters on Wednesday, AFP reported. “Linking the 80,000-tonne pipes under the sea with watertight technology was the most challenging.”

It was not revealed how much the entire project cost, which included the building of artificial islands, new border-crossing facilities and linked roads. However, some estimated that it could be over 100 billion yuan ($15.1 billion).

The bridge was first expected to be open in 2017. Unfortunately, the plan did not come to pass and has been delayed ever since.

While no official opening date has been revealed, officials expect that the HKZM bridge could be used by the public for 120 years. It will also cut down the travel time for commuters by 60%, the report continued.

Images via Xinhua