World's First Integrated Pile-Girder Bridge-Erecting Machine Put into Operation

"Gonggong", the world's first integrated pile and girder bridge-erecting crane, has been put into operation at the Meilong Grand Bridge project, realizing a new mode of bridge building involving factory prefabrication, lean management, modular assembly and intelligent erection.

With a total length of 5,400 meters, the bridge is a section of the Shenzhen-Shantou West Expressway Expansion Project in South China's Guangdong Province. The bridge is being built near the Guangdong Haifeng Avian Provincial Nature Reserve and stretches through sandbank, lakes and swamps, which calls for high requirements in environmental protection.

In response to those requirements, China Railway Hi-Tech Industry Co., Ltd. (CRHIC), a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited, joined hands with several institutes and developed the "Gonggong" machine to guarantee green construction.

The machine is 92 meters long and 13 meters wide, and weighs 575 metric tons. It has an effective span of 48 meters and is equipped with a piling mechanism based on the Beidou Navigation Satellite System.

It is an "expert" in pilot hole construction and piling and girder erection in areas unsuited for traditional engineering methods because of shallow lakes, wetlands and swamps, as well as environmental protection zones and urban areas with busy traffic conditions.

The machine is expected to revolutionize the bridge building industry and is the subject of eight national invention patent applications.

"Gonggong", the world's first integrated pile-girder bridge-erecting machine is put into operation at the Meilong Grand Bridge project in Guangdong Province. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

According to China Railway Science & Industry Group Co. Ltd, the contractor of the expansion project, there's no requiring of neither land acquisition nor any other lifting equipment to assist construction. Bridge engineering efficiency is improved by more than three times compared to that of traditional methods.

Meanwhile, building costs of equipment erection and movement is eliminated. Dust and noise at the construction site is also lowered, reducing the impact on plants and the surrounding environment.

Three such smart bridge erecting machines are to be used in construction of the Meilong Grand Bridge.

The 146-kilometer Shenzhen-Shantou West Expressway Expansion Project at present has the most investment and is the longest of its kind in Guangdong.

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)