Mega bridge over water: 622 metres, 100,000 tonnes and 4 tracks — a new record for China's high speed rail network

The Qiangkuang Bridge is the only over water wide multi span long span continuous beam structure on the route, linking Weifang–Suqian and the Qingdao connection line. Upon completion, the project will speed travel from the Jiaodong Peninsula to the south, connecting the economic circles of Beijing Tianjin Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta.

As reported by CCTV+, the Qiangkuang Reservoir Mega Bridge, part of the connection line of the Weifang–Suqian High Speed Railway to Qingdao City in eastern China's Shandong Province, completed closure on Tuesday, marking a milestone for the project. Located in Wulian County in Shandong, the bridge features a concrete continuous beam with a total length of 621.7 metres, a width of 24.6 metres, and a total weight of more than 100,000 tonnes.

As the only over water ultra wide, multi span, long span continuous beam bridge along the route, the bridge is designed with four tracks on the same beam to serve as a core corridor for both the main Weifang–Suqian high speed railway and the Qingdao connection line. The connection line is a key link between the Second Beijing–Shanghai High Speed Railway and the coastal corridor of the country's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high speed railway network.

Upon completion, the project will greatly facilitate travel between the Jiaodong Peninsula and regions to the south, promoting the integrated development of the Jiaodong Economic Circle, the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, and the Yangtze River Delta.

621.7 metres in length, 24.6 metres wide, 100,000 tonnes of concrete and steel — these are not just numbers. They are the answer to how to connect regions divided by water. The Qiangkuang Bridge has become an example of engineering audacity: four railway tracks on a single beam is a rare solution that makes it not just a crossing but a transport artery of the highest order. When trains run across it, travel times between north and south will shrink, and the economies of three major regions will merge into a single rhythm. The builders did not just throw a beam over a reservoir — they linked the fates of millions of people. And every span of this mega bridge is another step in China's journey to make distances no longer an obstacle.