Introduction:  As the Major project of the Twelfth Five- year Plan in Hubei Province and the sixth bridge crossing over the Yangtze River, Yichang Miaozui Bridge has been a construction project with the largest investment in Yichang. Located 2.7 km downstream of Gezhouba, the bridge with three lanes on each side starts from Dongyue No.2 Road in Dianjun District and ends on Xiling No.2 Road in Xiling District and is made up of Dajiang Bridge, Sanjiang Bridge and the approach bridge connecting north and south. The construction with a total investment of 2.764 billion RMB formally started on November 18th, 2012. At present, the catwalk of Dajiang Bridge has been set up and the construction of the king-tower and approach bridge of Sanjing Bridge is in progress.

　　Above the river soaring high the catwalk, from north to south straddling the bridge.

　　The bridge will form the inner loop of the traffic in central downtown area with Yiling Yangtze River Bridge, the big loop of the traffic hub of Yichang downtown area with Wujiagang Yangtze River Bridge which is about to be built in the future, and the outer loop of Yichang with Yichang Yangtze River Road Bridge and Fanba Expressway. A new scene is being taking shape-- the new tunnel and new view connecting north and south of Yangtze River, and the “three rivers and four shores” of Xiba.

　　On August 21st, when the reporter arrived at the construction spot, the workers were installing the portal at the catwalk hanging in the air almost one hundred meters above the river under the blazing sun.

　　“The main cable will be set up by the end of this year and we will start to set up the steel box girder the first half of next year, trying to complete the whole project before the end of next year.” Yuan Qinhua, the director of the Bridge Office of the Municipal Construction Committee, introduced that the project was initiated in 2009 and formally started on November 18th, 2012 and the first cushion cap of the king-tower was filled with mass concrete on June 13th, 2013. This year, on June 16th, the pilot rope of Dajiang Bridge crossed over the river… The construction of Miaozui Bridge is faster than the other ten bridges along Yangtze River because of the straight examination and approval procedure and proper schedule of construction, which was realized under the condition that the problems of navigation traffic, geological conditions, complicated water flows and so on were solved.

　　As the major project of the Twelfth Five- year Plan in Hubei province, an important strategic project ensuring the safe operation of Gezhouba Project and Three Gorgers Project, a project promoting the harmonious development of the dam and reservoir area of Three Gorgers Project, the construction of Miaozui Bridge has drawn high attention from departments of the city and the province. In order to build the national first- class river-spanning bridge, the municipal Party committee and the municipal government formed the steering group of Miaozui Bridge project, the related functional departments of the Municipal Construction Committee and the Municipal Development and Reform Commission cooperated with each other to enhance the construction smoothly with high work strength.

　　Walking up the king-tower of Dajiang Bridge on the side of Dianjun, one can have a full view of all the high-rise buildings in the north of the river. Not far away, Yiling Changjiang Bridge is going through the downtown area and running smoothly into the green mountains on the opposite side with a torrent of car flow. More distant, the orange Yichang Changjiang Bridge is echoing the catwalk of Dajiang Bridge. “When the construction completed, the new added main tunnel connecting the north and south of Yangtze River will become part of the inner loop of the traffic in the city, and help to improve the traffic effectively.” Zhou Changdong, the chief engineer of the headquarters, said that the bridge with three lanes on each side was the river-spanning bridge having the widest road and the most number of lanes. It’s the second grand suspension bridge with steel connecting beams after Wuhan Yingwuzhou Bridge in process.

　　The catwalk in sight is the tunnel in the air above Yangtze River for construction. “It is prepared for setting up the main cable.” Zhou Changdong introduced that if the construction ran smoothly, they would start to set up the datum strands in September. A main cable weighed more than 4,000 tons is made up of 127 strands which are also formed by 127 steel wires. The strands need antiseptic treatment after installation. After that comes the setting up of the steel box girder.

　　Pointing at the other side of the catwalk, Zhou Changdong said that both Dajiang Bridge and Sanjiang Bridge had no pier in the river and it would not have a bad influence on the migration of Chinese sturgeons, would ensure no suspension of Yangtze River waterway and project the species diversity in ambient environment and in Yangtze River effectively.

　　According to the river-spanning development strategy, when Miaozui Bridge is completed, the last part of the traffic loop connecting the south and north of Yangtze River will be finished. The traffic of the four new districts will form an effective loop, which will contribute to the integrated economical development of central downtown area, Dianjun District, Xiba and Wujiagang District, advancing the strategy of building Yichang into a modern mega city. (Reporter: Xiao Ming, Correspondent: Ouyang Bo)