Santiago Calatrava has unveiled images of his designs for three landmark road and pedestrian bridges across the new Yangtze River Canal in Huashan.
Huashan is situated approximately 20km east of Wuhan, the capital of the province of Hubei in central China.
The three steel bridges will be on a 1.5km stretch of the canal, which connects to feeder lakes of the Yangtze River. Construction of the Xihu, Xianbi and Lincong bridges is seen as key to the development of Huashan’s new urban centre.
The Xianbi Bridge, the central bridge, is 129m long with an arch standing 42.3m high. It incorporates two traffic lanes with a support structure in the centre, creating a void.
The westernmost bridge, Xihu, is designed with a single arch and is connected via a platform of inclined cables. It is 102.7m long and the tied arch reaches 20.4m.
Lincong is the easternmost bridge and has two arches inclining outward away from the bridge. It is 118m long and 26.1m high.
All three bridges have stairs allowing pedestrians to cross the channel directly from the lower level.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2016.
