Photo taken on Oct 21, 2016 shows the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province. The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge will be closed for repair for 27 months from Oct 28. [Photo/Xinhua]

The first ever bridge created by Chinese bridgebuilders on the country's longest Yangtze River will be closed for a major overhaul.

The maintenance project for the bridge in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, will begin next Friday and last for more than two years.

The cost of the project is estimated over $160 million dollars.

Built in 1968, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge has a double layer structure for both highway traffic and trains.

The bridge is one of the longest in China and a landmark structure in Nanjing.

The traffic flow on the bridge has reached a capacity greater than it was designed to handle.