Posted on 07/05/2011 7:42:15 AM PDT by Red Badger
Safety fears have been raised over the newly opened cross-sea bridge, the world's longest, that links Qingdao City in east China to the island of Huangdao.
There is concern that the tight schedule ahead of the official opening left important work undone or incomplete.
Several gaps were found in the crash barriers on the 42.5 kilometer Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, while bolts inserted to fasten the barriers were found to be loose or uncovered, China Central Television reported Monday.
CCTV said that workers were tightening bolts that could easily have been loosened by hand on the bridge, which has seen nearly 18,000 cars cross it every day since it was officially opened on June 30, on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
A worker said they didn't have enough time to install all the safety barriers and to fix the bolts before the bridge's opening.
Workers had also to finish installing the bridge's lighting system, which was not in place yet, another man, believed to be in charge of work at the bridge, told CCTV.
"We have just started installing support facilities on the bridge and it will take two to three months to finish the work," he said.
When the Shandong provincial government announced the opening of the 14.8 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) bridge, it said the structure, built to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, could take up to 50,000 cars at day, cutting the drive time between the two destinations from 40 to 20 minutes.
But many motorists expressed fears over safety given the high speed of traffic on the bridge and the potential dangers if crash barriers were not fully in place.
The man believed to be charge of the work said safety would not be affected by the loose bolts or the absence of barriers, but wouldn't say whether a too tight schedule was behind the bridge still being unfinished after its opening.
An official surnamed Cui with the bridge's investor, Shandong High-speed Group Co, said some barriers and bolts had been removed by workers to adjust wiring, which was normal practice after a bridge opened to traffic, Jiaodong.net reported Monday. Cui said the adjustments would be done by the end of this month with all bolts and barriers in place.
Workers toiled for four and a half years to build the bridge, which took the "world's longest" title from the 38.35 kilometer Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States.
Watch the Mythbusters episode where they do a simulated 60MPH head-on collision between two Chinese Cherry sedans. The car just accordions from 14 feet to under 6 feet in length.
Shoddy construction on an ever increasing budget and a hurry up as they approached the final umpteenth completion date? Who knew they got the union crew from Boston’s tunnel to do the work?/ sarc
How did they make it past Quality? Did receiving not do any kind of tests on the lots before they came in? Sounds like a vendor should have been held liable...
They talk about this bridge like its a miracle of modern engineering!
Of course, the second longest (over water) bridge is here in Louisiana. It was built in 1956 and it is 23.8 miles long.
So 55 years later China goes 3 miles longer and its some great accomplishment?
People are all in awe of China's greatness? Perhaps I will be more impressed with the new Jiaozhou bridge if it is still standing in 55 years.
Thanks for the good post!
Where’s that?
“Sounds like a vendor should have been held liable...”
The vendor was held liable...and the vendor was left to go after the supplier, which turned out to be a front company for Chinese products...which evaporated into thin air (and was probably re-organized in another name, with a new fax number, the very next day).
Thank goodness that could NEVER happen in building a nuke plant, right? Right?
It’s where you get to if you cross the Pontchartrain Causeway (formerly the longet span over water).
The quality inspection guys love big bucks, you know. And in this case, they will certainly choose to please the CPC on their 90th birthday over common people’s safety.
The quality inspection guys love big bucks, you know. And in this case, they will certainly choose to please the CPC on their 90th birthday over common people’s safety.
The quality inspection guys love big bucks, you know. And in this case, they will certainly choose to please the CPC on their 90th birthday over common people’s safety.
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