China-Maldives Friendship Bridge Has Its First Check after One-year Operation

The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge had its first road check on Aug 30 one year after its opening.

The 2,000-meter four-lane bridge, which connects the Maldives capital of Male and Hulhule Island where the country's main international airport is located, was checked by seven heavy engineering vans.

The examination was carried out by more than ten bridge engineers from China and Maldives and included aspects like load tests, appearance quality and durability, electrical equipment and settlement observation.

Li Ning, chief engineer of the bridge's management at China Communications Construction Company Limited, said that the quality of the bridge's main body was assessed with a gravity ballast test, which compares deflection of the bridge structure before and after ballast with the designed model calculation.  

He added that as it is located in a tropical marine environment with high temperature, high corrosion and strong waves, the bridge must be fully examined after a year's operation.

Maldives engineer Mohammed Shafeeu, who has been responsible for the bridge's quality management since 2017, also took part in the examination.

He said that the bridge was the first he participated in and has brought great convenience to the residents and added that it will be necessary to check its condition after a year's use.

Shafeeu carefully checked the bridge head at the Male side and discussed technical issues with Chinese engineers.

"The slope was well designed but people could walk more safely if it could be made gentler," he mentioned.

The arch, surface of the roadway and protective barriers were also checked and the data was written down attentively by the engineers.

The bridge opened to traffic on Aug 30, 2018 and was contracted by China Communications Construction Company Limited.

It is the first bridge between islands in the country and the world's first super-large bridge built in an open environment in deep sea and on a coral reef.

The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge opens to traffic on Aug 30, 2018. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Zhang Tianyuan)