Innovative design helps protect rare fish in SW China high-speed railway construction

(ECNS) -- Rare fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are well protected during the construction of a bridge on the Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway because of the innovative pier-less design.

Construction of the main suspension structure of the cross-river rail bridge, or the Luzhou-Tuojiang Bridge, was officially completed on Saturday.

Its main pylon, the first double-column V-shaped bridge tower in China, is 113.2 meters tall.

As a key section of the Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway, the bridge located at the junction of Longmatan and Jiangyang districts in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, and is close to the intersection of Tuojiang River and Yangtze River.

There are 151 species and subspecies of fish in Sichuan section of the Yangtze River, including 38 species of fish endemic to its upper reaches, such as river sturgeon and mullet.

 “If we put a pier in the river, there will be noise, vibration and waste during the construction and the pier will permanently occupy the water area, causing changes in the flow pattern and riverbed topography,which will have an impact on the living environment of fish," said Wu Xinli, a person in charge of the design team from the China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd.

In order to protect rare fish, the bridge spans over the Tuojiang River without a pier, boasting the longest span along the railway and the ability to meet the requirements of navigation, flood discharge and rare fish protection, said Wu.

The Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway, linking two major cities of China's southwest, will slash the travel time between each from nearly five hours to just two hours when it is completed in 2025.