China has inaugurated its latest engineering marvel — the 55-km Zhoushan-Ningbo Deep Water Bridge and Tunnel complex — surpassing the previous record holder Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge to become the world’s longest sea crossing structure. The project, which took 8 years to build at a cost of ¥120 billion ($16.5 billion), connects the Zhoushan archipelago — China’s largest island group — to the mainland city of Ningbo.
The crossing incorporates two suspension bridges with main spans of 2,000 metres, a 15-km undersea tunnel, and a mid-sea artificial island serving as a ventilation and service hub. The design accommodates simultaneous six-lane highway and four-track railway traffic, with trains operating at up to 350 km/h.
The bridge is expected to transform the Zhoushan Islands from a relatively isolated fishing community into an integrated part of the Yangtze River Delta megacity region, cutting travel time from 3 hours by ferry to 30 minutes by car and 20 minutes by train.
