Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

Even by Chinese standards, it is a construction project of superlatives: the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) connects three metropolises across the Pearl River Delta over a total length of 50 km with a combination of bridges, a tunnel and artificial islands.

As a starting point in the east, an artificial island was built up in front of Zhuhai and the Macao Special Administrative Region as a toll station and border crossing. From here, a long bridge section stretches across the relatively shallow bay to the east to the Lingdingyang Canal. This busy waterway leads, for instance, directly through the delta to the important container ports of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Since building a bridge here would obstruct the busy shipping traffic upstream, the architects decided to build a tunnel at this point to cross under the shipping channel.

In the middle of the Pearl River Delta, the roadway virtually disappears into the sea: the bridge ends for now on an artificially created island, and the traffic continues from there in a tunnel. After seven kilometres of underground routing below the canal, the transition to a second bridge section follows on another artificial island. In front of the Hong Kong Special Trade Zone, the HZMB ends again on an artificial island with a toll station and border crossing. Up to 100,000 vehicles will be able to use the three-lane HZMB in both directions every day, shortening the journey time from Zhuhai to Hong Kong by more than three hours.

ACO drainage guarantees safety

The enormous importance of the project is reflected in the high quality requirements for all materials used in construction, including the drainage system inside the tunnel. Approved ACO Monoblock channels made of polymer concrete are used here. The special feature of these channels: They are manufactured as monolithic channels in one casting and do not consist of a channel body with a grating on top, as is usually the case. This construction makes them particularly robust and durable, as there are no detachable parts. The channels thus guarantee the highest level of safety, even under extreme loads. In the HZMB tunnel, 14,000 metres of channels were installed, which were manufactured at the ACO plant in Shanghai.