The undersea infrastructure of a railroad bridge in Pingtan, Fujian province made a breakthrough on Aug 26, local news portal ptnet.cn reported.

A floating crane puts down a steel cofferdam in deep water in Pingtan, Fujian province, Aug 26. The steel cofferdam is a critical facility for bridge foundation. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

A steel cofferdam, a critical facility for bridge foundation in deepwater, was put down around the No.54 pier at the B0-B58 section of the Haixia Railroad Bridge near the Beidongkou water area.

Its is the first steel cofferdam in deep water near the area, laying a solid foundation for the rest of the project, said engineer Zhang Yafeng. The bridge will be part of the Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway.

Background: Haixia Railroad Bridge

The 16.3-km Pingtan Haixia Railroad Bridge linking Pingtan and Changle county starts from Songxia Port in Changle, stretches southeast over the Yuanhong channel, Guyumen channel, Changyu Island, Xiaolian Island, the Xiaolian-Dalian island channel, Dalian Islet, Haitan Strait, and finally reaches Suao town on Pingtan Island.

Background: Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway

Construction of the Fuzhou-Pingtan Railway – which will link the capital city of Fujian and the island county of Pingtan in Fujian province – began on Oct 31, 2013.

The line stretches 88.4 kilometers, with a designed speed of 160 km per hour (Fuzhou-Fuzhou South) and 200 km per hour (Fuzhou South to Pingtan), a passenger capacity of 50 million and cargo capacity of 15 million tons.

The railway project – with a total accrued investment of 26.8 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) – is expected to take over five years.