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On December 11 at 3:00 PM, the Huangmaohai Cross-sea Passage, a key infrastructure project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, will officially commence operations.

Launched in June 2020, this approximately 31-kilometer passage connects the Hegang Expressway in the east to the Xintai Expressway in the west. It is designed as a six-lane expressway with a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour and an expected lifespan of 100 years, with an approved budget of 12.985 billion yuan. For the initial period, the public will enjoy free passage, with detailed toll fees to be announced subsequently.

The passage significantly reduces travel time from Zhuhai to Jiangmen from over an hour to approximately 30 minutes, further integrating the Greater Bay Area's multi-modal transportation network. As the first cross-sea passage project initiated post the "Development Plan Outline for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," it follows the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor as another significant cross-sea project.

The passage features two notable bridges: the Gaolan Port Bridge and the Huangmaohai Bridge. The Gaolan Port Bridge, a crucial node of the project, spans 1,416 meters, employing a double-tower cable-stayed bridge structure with towers reaching 256 meters in height.

The Huangmaohai Bridge, spanning 2,200 meters, is the world's largest three-tower cable-stayed bridge with a main tower height of 265 meters, showcasing an innovative design that adds a dynamic and aesthetic touch to the seascape.

The construction of the passage faced significant challenges, such as the soft soil layer beneath the seabed, which complicated pile foundation construction. Advanced geological exploration and deep-water pile construction techniques were employed to overcome these difficulties.

This integration aims to bridge the economic gap between the eastern and western banks of the Pearl River estuary, where the eastern shore's GDP combined for Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Huizhou was 5.22 trillion yuan, compared to the western shore's Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen with 1.21 trillion yuan.

The project is expected to stimulate economic growth, with road investments of 1 trillion yuan directly driving GDP growth of 0.8 trillion to 0.9 trillion yuan and indirectly driving GDP growth of 2 trillion to 2.5 trillion yuan. For cities like Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen, each with GDPs around 400 billion yuan, 2024 marks a significant year for transportation development and economic opportunity.

Editor: Gao Han