The construction of the cross-sea bridge for the Hezhan High-Speed Railway takes mangrove protection into account

The Tieshangang CrossSea ExtraLarge Bridge on the HezhouGuangdong Zhanjiang HighSpeed Railway is currently under construction. The project is located in the waters of Tieshangang in the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi, and some sections of the bridge pass through mangrove nature reserves. Within the construction area, habitats of rare marine species such as the Chinese white dolphin, horseshoe crab, and amphioxus are also distributed. To reduce the impact on the ecological environment, the builders repeatedly optimized the plan during the route comparison and bridge design stages, avoided densely vegetated mangrove areas, and changed some bridge sections to longerspan continuous beams, reducing the number of bridge piers and the land area occupied. The construction trestle was also rerouted, which, although increasing the project's difficulty and cost, reduced the occupation of mangroves. Reports show that the project has implemented ecological compensation through methods such as transplant restoration, offsite supplementary planting, and payment of wetland restoration fees. At the same time, steel casings and steel sheet pile cofferdams were used during construction to prevent mud slurry from leaking out, and experts were invited to provide mangrove protection training for construction workers. The Hezhan HighSpeed Railway is about 139 kilometers long, designed for a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and is expected to be completed and open to traffic by the end of 2028.