Recently, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) announced the laureates of the IABSE Outstanding Structure Awards (OStrA) 2020, and the winners include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in China and the Halogaland Bridge in Norway, both constructed by China Railway Group (CREC) among other contractors.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge connects Hong Kong in the east and Zhuhai and Macao in the west. Measuring about 55 kilometers in total, the bridge is the world’s longest sea-crossing link and a super large cross-sea passage jointly constructed by Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao. Subsidiaries of CREC, including China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute, China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group and China Railway Baoji Bridge Group, participated in the construction of the bridge.
Located in Narvik, Norway, the Halogaland Bridge crosses the Ofotfjord in northern Norway. With a main span of 1,145 meters and a total length of 1,533 meters, it is a highway suspension bridge with steel cables produced by China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group. Its coating system has two items with the highest requirements in the world: sandblasting grade Sa3 and the salt content after sandblasting limited to no higher than 20 mg/m2.
Founded in 1929, IABSE is now an international engineering association with the largest number of member countries. The IABSE Outstanding Structure Award (OStrA) was established in 1998. As the OStrA represents the highest achievements in technological innovation and engineering creation of bridges and structures, the IABSE gives the awards to one to four bridges or structural engineering projects annually. (By Qian Banglei)
