The 11,072-meter-long Hutong (Shanghai-Nantong) Yangtze River Bridge was completed Friday afternoon, making it the world's first cable-stayed bridge for dual use of rail and highway spanning over 1,000 meters. (Compiled by Shen Feng)

To conveniently connect highways and railways, the Hutong Yangtze River Bridge is located 45 kilometers downstream of the Jiangyin Bridge. Since the bridge is close to the estuary of the Yangtze River, whose river surface is wide and waterway is bustling, it must have a longer span. As a result, the bridge secured a main span of 1,092 meters with a six-lane expressway on the upper deck and four railway tracks on the lower deck.

As an important section of China’s coastal railway network, the bridge linking Shanghai to Nantong, Jiangsu province will help reduce travel time between the cities from five to around one hour. Thanks to its completion, the country’s central and western regions will also benefit from the economic development of the Yangtze River Delta.

About 230,000 cubic meters of concrete and 480,000 tons of steel bars were used to build the bridge, which can withstand powerful typhoons, and the impact from a collision with a 100,000-ton ship.