Bridge adds to life-giving canal for Guizhou

The Renhuai-Zunyi Expressway opened to traffic last Thursday in Zunyi, Guizhou province.

The 1,427-meter Dafaqu Grand Bridge is a large-span concrete-filled steel tube arch bridge. As a key project of the expressway, the bridge closes the distance between Zunyi and Renhuai.

It was praised as an engineering marvel created by Guizhou construction engineers.

Huang Dafa, 88, witnessed the construction of the Dafaqu Bridge at his door. The July 1 Medal recipient announced the opening of the expressway. It was a big day for crowds of Tuanjie village, as crowds thronged the ceremony and set off firecrackers in celebration.

Decades ago, Tuanjie village had a water shortage. High, steep mountains resulted in uneven terrain and barren soil. The hostile natural environment forced people to mainly rely on rain to water their crops.

For 36 years, Huang Dafa dedicated himself to building and maintaining a canal. With the irrigation channel, people from Tuanjie village and neighboring villages finally had sufficient drinking water and could irrigate rice and other crops. The channel was named the Dafa Canal in Huang's honor.

To add to the magnificent feat of building the Dafa Canal, thet local government decided to construct the Dafaqu Grand Bridge. Based on modern skills technology, the bridge was completed within two years. It opened in July.

The Renhuai-Zunyi Expressway, a 52.4-kilometer highway with six-lanes, was built by Guizhou Highway Development Co with an investment of 12.8 billion yuan ($1.84 billion). The whole project, including 101 bridges and 26 tunnels, took four years to complete. It connects with the Shanghai-Chengdu expressway (G42), and is part of the Chengdu-Zunyi Expressway (G4215) mentioned in the National Highway Network Planning.

"The Renzun Expressway from Renhuai to Zunyi has a design speed of 100 kilometer per hour," said Xu Yinglu, Party secretary of Guizhou Highway Development Co.

"The project will speed up the construction of the central Guizhou economic zone, strengthen the connection between the northern Guizhou area and Sichuan and Chongqing. Meanwhile, it will promote the urban construction of Zunyi and Renhuai."

In the Renhuai section, the total green area is 13,274 square meters. Aside from expanding the green area, pipes were laid every 5 meters to collect rainwater. Purification pools were placed every 10 km to get recycled water for greening irrigation, according to the construction team.

Once the expressway begins operation, the drive from Zunyi to Renhuai will be shortened from the current 1 hour and 30 minutes to just 30 minutes.

The Dafaqu Bridge will soon become a popular place for tourists. Tuanjie village will also become the best place to see a magnificent view of the bridge.