Great Bridges Codexery

Tsing Ma Bridge

Longest rail-carrying suspension bridge, linking Tsing Yi and Ma Wan.

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Tsing Ma Bridge

via Wikipedia: Tsing Ma Bridge · see source

Where it is

Street map of the area around Tsing Ma Bridge; the red dot marks 22°21′04″N 114°04′26″E
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Coordinates: 22°21′04″N 114°04′26″E (22.3510, 114.0740) · Open in OpenStreetMap

Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Tsing Ma Bridge (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.

It is a suspension bridge with a 41-meter-wide deck carrying six lanes of automobile traffic and a lower level with two rail tracks.[1] At completion it was the world's second-longest span suspension bridge.[2] Tsing Yi and Ma Wan islands are linked by the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong.[2]

Geography and history

Gammon Construction built the caissons for the bridge towers, floating each framework into place and filling it with concrete underwater.[3][4] On the Ma Wan side, each of the two caissons has a weight of 4,500 tons; the two caissons on the Tsing Yi side are each approximately 3,000 tons.[4] During the latter part of 1994, the initial steel deck segment was positioned by lifting.[5] By May 1997, construction had been completed.[6]

Margaret Thatcher, a former British Prime Minister, officiated the inauguration of the Lantau Link (which includes the Tsing Ma Bridge) on 27 April 1997.[6] Over 100,000 people watched the opening ceremony, which featured a fireworks show lasting 20 minutes and costing HK$5 million.[7] At 8:00 am on 22 May 1997, the Lantau Link was opened for traffic.[8]

What the cited sources add

The same article noted that 300,000 people were expected to descend on Tsing Yi Island and the Castle Peak coastline for the fireworks.[9] A 2017 South China Morning Post article by Stuart Heaver stated that the bridge is eight metres higher than official records show, meaning mega-ships have been needlessly prohibited from using the Ma Wan channel for years.[10] That article reported that a special technical report dated November 1, 2016 found the height discrepancy.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Evaluation of typhoon induced fatigue damage for Tsing Ma Bridge (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "10 Tallest Bridges in the World | Top Weird, Odd and Cool lists", Weirdly Odd, 2010-12-01 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis, "Engineering marvel becomes territory's latest landmark", South China Morning Post, 22 May 1997, p. 1; "Work starts on Tsing Ma contract", South China Morning Post, 28 May 1992, p. 35 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gammon begins bridge under the water", South China Morning Post, 30 July 1992, p. 26; "Gammon begins bridge under the water", South China Morning Post, 30 July 1992, p. 26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wallis, "Tsing Ma milestone reached", South China Morning Post, 25 October 1994, p. 4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heaver, "Tsing Ma Bridge height debacle costing Hong Kong billions", South China Morning Post, 17 June 2017; "Security tight for Thatcher's bridge opening", South China Morning Post, 27 April 1997, p. 4 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee, "Spotlight on crowd control for handover", South China Morning Post, 29 April 1997; "Security tight for Thatcher's bridge opening", South China Morning Post, 27 April 1997, p. 4; Flint, "Lantau link fireworks not for the faint-hearted", South China Morning Post, 17 April 1997, p. 5; Lo, "Long march home faces fireworks fans", South China Morning Post, 26 April 1997, p. 5; Lee, "Spotlight on crowd control for handover", South China Morning Post, 29 April 1997; Lee, "Spotlight on crowd control for handover", South China Morning Post, en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Tsing Ma Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Delfino, "Woman injured as hundreds cross link", South China Morning Post, 23 May 1997, p. 4; Delfino, "Woman injured as hundreds cross link", South China Morning Post, 23 May 1997, p. 4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Security tight for Thatcher's bridge opening", South China Morning Post, 27 April 1997, p. 4. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com
  10. Heaver, "Tsing Ma Bridge height debacle costing Hong Kong billions", South China Morning Post, 17 June 2017. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tsing Ma Bridge (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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