The Pingtan cross-strait road-rail bridge linking downtown Fuzhou with Pingtan connects its main fairway, June 5, 2019. (Photo/Xinhua)
A cross-sea bridge from East China's Fujian Province was completely connected on Wednesday after the last phase of concrete pouring, moving Chinese mainland infrastructure a step closer to linking with the island of Taiwan.
The bridge in East China's Fujian Province is regarded as a vital route which in the future might link the island of Taiwan via the Beijing-Taipei expressway, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said on Sina Weibo on Wednesday.
In a short video released by the commission, a construction worker from the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited who participated in the project said, "I firmly believe this bridge will link Taiwan eventually. As an infrastructure worker, I'm ready! Taiwan will be reunited."
The bridge has a six-lane expressway on top and at the bottom a railway for bullet trains traveling as fast as 200 kilometers per hour.
The 16.34 kilometer bridge connects Pingtan Island and four nearby islets to the mainland and is expected to be open to traffic by the second half of next year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The bridge will shorten the route from Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, to Pingtan - an island about 126 kilometers from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland's nearest location. People can take a boat or plane from Pingtan to Taiwan.
The bridge could be an important venue in the future that helps link his home with the mainland, Cheng Po-yu, 32, from Taiwan, who works in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Picturing a future where people could drive from Taiwan to the Chinese mainland, Cheng said, "Driving to the Chinese mainland is a totally different experience from flying. That time will mean a true integration of people from across the Straits."
In March, Wu Zhiming, chairman of Fujian provincial Party committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, suggested that a submarine tunnel from Pingtan to Taiwan could boost business and cultural relations.
It could also act as a deterrent to secessionists on the island, Wu said.
