Last beam of longest bridge along China-Laos railway erected

Aerial photo taken on June 1, 2019 shows the construction site of the Nam Khone super major bridge in Laos. (Xinhua/Zang Heng)

The last T-shaped beam was laid between two piers of the Nam Khone super major bridge, the longest bridge along the China-Laos railway, on Saturday in Lao capital Vientiane, marking the completion of the beam erection stage of the bridge construction.

China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group (CREC-2), the Chinese engineering company in charge of the construction, told Xinhua that it has overcome difficulties of transportation, tropical climate and language barriers to complete the bridge beam erection within less than 120 days.

The 7,506.3-meter railway bridge is also the longest bridge in Laos so far.

The CREC-2 started pier construction of the bridge in May 2017. The main construction work was completed in June 2018, and the beam erection started in February 2019.

The China-Laos railway has a length of over 414 km with bridges of 62 km, linking Mohan-Boten border gate in northern Laos and capital Vientiane. Operating speed on the route is designed at 160 km per hour.