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The construction of a 5.4-km bridge linking Kinmen Island (Greater Kinmen) and Leiyu, or Little Kinmen, will begin Sunday, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said Saturday.
Lu Jie-pin, an engineer at the MOTC's Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau who is in charge of the project, said the project will take more than five years due to the difficulties involved in building underwater piles. "Just like the locals, we are very excited about the project, " said Lu Jie-pin
Connecting Kinmen Island (Greater Kinmen) and Leiyu, or Little Kinmen, the bridge's 1.4-km extra-dosed main body will have the world's longest span, according to the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau (TANEEB) that supervises the project.
Four of the six spans that make up the main bridge will be 280 meters long, five meter longer than the record-holder Kiso Bridge in Japan, the bureau said. The proposal of building the Kinmen Bridge was first raised in 1993 by the Kinmen County Council. However, the project has never been carried out until now.
When it is finished, the "Kinmen Bridge" will be the longest in the Taiwan-Fujian area and is expected to boost local tourism and improve transportation between the Greater Kinmen and Little Kinmen. Kinmen County will benefit from the completion of the Kinmen Bridge as it further integrates local tourism resources, President Ma Ying-jeou said at the bridge's groundbreaking ceremony Sunday.
The archipelago, which once belonged to China's Fujian Province, has been held by Taiwan since the 1949 Chinese civil war. The cost of the project is estimated at NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million) and it is scheduled to be completed in June 2016, the TANEEB said.
Four of the six spans that make up the main bridge will be 280 meters long, five meter longer than the record-holder Kiso Bridge in Japan, the bureau said. The proposal of building the Kinmen Bridge was first raised in 1993 by the Kinmen County Council. However, the project has never been carried out until now.
When it is finished, the "Kinmen Bridge" will be the longest in the Taiwan-Fujian area and is expected to boost local tourism and improve transportation between the Greater Kinmen and Little Kinmen. Kinmen County will benefit from the completion of the Kinmen Bridge as it further integrates local tourism resources, President Ma Ying-jeou said at the bridge's groundbreaking ceremony Sunday.
The archipelago, which once belonged to China's Fujian Province, has been held by Taiwan since the 1949 Chinese civil war. The cost of the project is estimated at NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million) and it is scheduled to be completed in June 2016, the TANEEB said.
