East China’s Jiangsu province has launched an emergency inspection on the maintenance of the bridges across the Yangtze River to guarantee the safety of travel, according to an emergent circular issued by the provincial department of transportation.
Jiangsu is one of the provinces that have the largest number of bridges across the Yangtze River with a heavy traffic volume.
The provincial department of transportation has asked the operators of the Yangtze River bridges to carry out an emergent maintenance on the bridges due to the recent heavy traffic resulting from the toll-free travel since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The maintenance should target primary force-bearing components and special facilities such as wind resistance, the circular said.
The Department of Transportation required all regions to strengthen data analysis and judgment by making full use of the cross-river bridge health monitoring system, focus on the structural response of the vehicle under partial load and strong wind vibration, and analyze and demonstrate the possible structural impact so as to promptly deal with any problems found.
Gao Yanyuan, manager of maintenance dept. Jiangsu Yangtze River Bridge Co. Ltd
We will focus on the inspection
of important components
of towers, anchors, cables, and beams
such as the settlement of the anchor tower
the protection of the main cable slings
the fatigue of the steel box girder
and the integrity of the bridge deck pavement
Jiangsu has built 14 bridges across the Yangtze River with health monitoring system installed.
