All kinds of work building a cross-sea railroad bridge is underway in Pingtan County, the Pingtan Times reported on Aug 12.

A sea platform for the construction of a cross-sea railroad bridge is being built in the Beidongkou Channel in Pingtan county, Aug 12. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

The Pingtan Haixia Railroad Bridge, after completion, will be a 16.3-km cross-sea bridge linking Fuqing county and Pingtan Island.

Workers are concentrating on the construction of the section at Beidongkou Channel, which is between the Dalian islet and Pingtan Island. They are hammering in all sorts of piles for the bridge as well as a line of construction platforms in the sea.

The installation of piles in the sea for a bridge requires absolute precision. Even the slightest mistake could result in a rework that lasts more than three months, according to a project manager.

Since the first pile foundation was laid on May 27, the team has finished 14 of them as of Aug 12.

At the same time, workers are also embedding steel piles supporting 13 marine construction platforms. This job is expected to be wrapped up by the end of this month.

To accomplish the mission, the construction team will have to overcome a great many hurdles, including high temperatures of up to 60 C on the steel plates of the platform caused by the strong sun, and complicated underwater conditions in the channel.

Workers spend almost all of their time at sea. All of the construction materials and daily supplies are transferred by accommodation vessels.

The cross-sea rail link is part of the 88-km Fuzhou-Pingtan railway. It will start from Songxia Port in neighboring Changle county, stretch southeast over the Yuanhong channel, the Guyumen channel, Changyu Island, Xiaolian Island, the Xiaolian-Dalian island channel, Dalian Islet, Haitan Strait, and finally reach Suao town on Pingtan Island.