Nansha Bridge
Where our expansion joint set a world record for displacement capacity while managing six degrees of freedom, meeting the most complex movement requirements of any bridge at the time.
Nansha Bridge: A New Landmark in Cross‑Pearl River Connectivity
Originally named the Humen Second Bridge project during construction, the bridge was renamed Nansha Bridge upon its completion. Construction took five years, and the bridge opened to traffic on April 2, 2019.
Stretching nearly 13 kilometers, the bridge starts in Dongyong Town, Nansha District, Guangzhou, crosses the Dashui Waterway, passes over Haiao Island, spans the Nizhou Waterway, and ends in Shatian Town, Dongguan. The project features two ultra‑long suspension bridges across the Nizhou and Dashui waterways, with main spans of 1,688 meters and 1,200 meters respectively. Both are twin‑tower suspension bridges with eight lanes and a total width of 49.7 meters.
This was the first time that two suspension bridges with main spans exceeding 1,000 meters were completed and opened to traffic simultaneously. Among them, the Nizhou Waterway Bridge was, upon completion, the world's longest steel box girder suspension bridge.
Record‑Setting Engineering
Nansha Bridge is a major new river crossing in the core area of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. The entire mainline is bridge‑based, including two major river crossings. ROABY's products and services were applied across multiple record‑setting aspects of the project:
Tower height: The towers of the Nizhou Waterway Bridge stand 260 meters tall, making them the tallest suspension bridge towers in China at the time of completion.
Main cable: The main cables exceed one meter in diameter, with a total steel wire length of over 200,000 kilometers—enough to circle the Earth five times. This was the longest and largest‑diameter main cable used in a domestic suspension bridge at the time.
Cable strength:The main cables use domestically produced 1,960 MPa high‑strength zinc‑aluminum alloy coated steel wire, the highest strength grade used in suspension bridge main cables in China at the time.
Anchorage foundation:The anchorage foundation for the Nizhou Waterway Bridge features a diaphragm wall with a diameter of 90 meters and a wall thickness of 1.5 meters, covering an area equivalent to 15 basketball courts—the largest bridge anchorage foundation in China at the time.
Expansion joint: The expansion joint on Nansha Bridge has a total expansion capacity of 2,640 mm, the largest in the world at the time of completion. The product, technology, and installation services were provided by ROABY.
ROABY Expansion Joint: A World Record
Beyond holding the world record for expansion capacity at the time of completion, the expansion joint on Nansha Bridge was also one of the most complex in terms of movement requirements. It accommodates six degrees of freedom: longitudinal, transverse, and vertical displacement, as well as horizontal, vertical, and axial rotation. Transverse displacement capacity is ±100 mm. ROABY conducted 15 dedicated technical reviews and optimization sessions specifically for this installation.
A New Arterial Connection
The completion of Nansha Bridge shortened the distance between southern Guangzhou and Dongguan by 10 kilometers and reduced travel time by approximately 30 minutes, significantly alleviating capacity constraints on river crossings in the Pearl River Delta.
Key Figures
Tallest suspension bridge towers in China at completion
World‑record expansion joint capacity (2,640 mm) and 6 degrees of freedom in a single expansion joint
