On September 26, China TIESIJU Civil Engineering Group successfully completed the rotation of two T-shaped beams, weighing 41,400 tons and 47,600 tons, respectively, as part of the Jiujiang Expressway Lushan Station Overpass Project in Jiangxi. This accomplishment set a new world record for the heaviest rotational bridge of its kind.
The project features an asymmetrical curved cable-stayed bridge with an extraordinary weight. The bridge spans 465 meters in length and 42 meters in width, constructed using a dual-rotation method with mother-and-child towers. Pier 53 consists of a single asymmetrical T-shaped beam (95.5 + 114 meters) weighing 41,400 tons, while Pier 54's beam (112.5 + 132 meters) weighs 47,600 tons.
The bridge crosses over 14 railway lines, including the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, Wuhan-Jiujiang Railway, Changjiu Intercity Railway, and the Lushan Station high-speed rail tracks. Due to these constraints, the rotation could only be carried out during a 2-hour "window" when passenger and freight trains were suspended. Starting at 1:47 a.m. on the day of the operation, the beams atop Piers 53 and 54 rotated synchronously at a speed of about 1.2 degrees per minute in a clockwise direction. After 79 minutes, they had precisely rotated 96.209 degrees and 93.504 degrees, respectively, perfectly aligning with the design position.The project team successfully overcame key technical challenges associated with rotating an ultra-wide, ultra-heavy asymmetrical curved cable-stayed bridge in a complex environment.
