A view of the Xiamen section of Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge Photo: Screenshot from CCTV News

With the final steel box girder lifted into place on Tuesday, the main sea span of the Xiamen section of the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge was connected, marking the completion of its main structure and bringing the project into the final stages ahead of opening to traffic, the CCTV News reported.

Stretching 14.2 kilometers, the sea bridge consists of 12 sections. With the main structure now fully connected, work is accelerating on the bridge deck, electromechanical systems, traffic safety facilities, and other supporting installations.

The Xiamen section of the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge measures about 19.6 kilometers in total length and comprises the main sea bridge, branch bridges, and land tunnels. The main line runs 17.34 kilometers, with the cross-sea portion featuring dual eight-lane carriage-ways designed for a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. 

Once the main sea bridge opens by the end of this year as planned, travel time between Xiamen Island and Dadeng Island will be reduced, significantly improving access from the main island to Xiang’an International Airport, said the report.

Construction of the Xiamen section began in October 2023. The Dadeng Island–Kinmen section of the bridge is planned to measure approximately 4.5 kilometers and will be built to expressway standards with dual six-lane carriageways and a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

On August 26, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council spokesperson Zhang Han said that building the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge is a shared aspiration and urgent desire of the residents of Xiamen and Kinmen. Once the bridge is open to traffic, it will greatly facilitate travel between the two places, inject new momentum into Kinmen’s economic development and improvement of people’s livelihoods, and turn Xiamen and Kinmen into a closer “same-city living circle.”

After completion, the bridge’s internal pipelines will also enable the supply of water, electricity, and natural gas to Kinmen, improving local living conditions. It will complement existing maritime routes and provide an additional transportation channel between Xiamen and Kinmen, according to Zhang.

“The DPP authorities should heed the genuine interests and demands of the residents of Kinmen, stop political calculations, truly work for the people’s benefit, and support the early completion and opening of the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge,” the spokesperson said then.


Global Times