Zhuhai-Shenzhen link plan revealed

The Zhuhai government has announced plans for a Shenzhen-Zhuhai bridge, suggesting that a bridge crossing the Lingding Channel will be built to connect the two cities, which border Hong Kong and Macau respectively and together form an important core of the Greater Bay Area.

The Lingding Channel is situated in the middle of the Pearl River estuary. By crossing the channel, the bridge will be placed 12 kilometers south of the upstream Shenzhen-Zhongshan link, and 20 kilometers north of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB). The bridge will start in Qianhai, Shenzhen and go towards Qi’ao Island, Zhuhai, and will be 47 kilometers long.

The cross-sea section of the bridge is planned to be both an expressway and a railway. A two-way eight-lane expressway and a four-lane railway with a designed speed of 100 kilometers per hour have been planned.

The bridge’s west side and east side will consist of bridge and tunnels respectively.

The bridge has officially been named the Lingdingyang Bridge and will cross the Channel of the same name.

On the Zhuhai side, once the bridge ends on Qi’ao Island, the Zhuhai government plans to set up 13 interchanges on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary and will connect the Qi’ao Bridge, Jinqin Expressway, West Coast Expressway and other expressways in Zhuhai.

Previously, both mainland China and Hong Kong argued that if Shenzhen were to be linked to the HKZMB, then forming connections between Zhuhai and Shenzhen, and, Shenzhen and Macau by extension would also be necessary. JZ