Published on: 2026-08-19
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Changsha, August 19 /Xinhua/ — Recently, the entire set of wind tunnel tests for the B3 arch bridge, part of the construction project of the “North-South” corridor /Kvesheti-Kobi/ in Georgia, was successfully completed. The contract for the construction work was awarded to the 23rd Bureau of the China Railway Construction Corporation /CRCC/. This was reported on Tuesday by Hunan University.
The tests were carried out at the State Key Laboratory for Safety and Durability of Bridge Structures of Hunan University in strict accordance with European technical standards.
The results confirmed that wind resistance, a key control factor in construction, underwent comprehensive testing and the bridge will be able to withstand extreme wind loads far exceeding those of a powerful hurricane.
Bridge B3 is located in the area of high-mountain cold gorges of the Caucasus region, where the maximum wind speed reaches 9 points, the air temperature in winter drops to minus 20 degrees, and the maximum snow cover thickness reaches two meters. According to Van Chao, the general director of the Georgian branch of the 23rd bureau of CRCC, the total length of the bridge is 437.875 m, the clear span of the main arch is 286 m, and the height of the superstructure above the bottom of the gorge is 164 m.
After completion of construction, the B3 arch bridge will become the longest in the Caucasus region and the fourth longest span in the world among reinforced concrete arch bridges built using the cantilever concrete casting method with cable-stayed suspension.
Associate Professor of the Institute of Civil Engineering at Hunan University Yang Ou noted that the current tests allowed filling gaps in technical control and were focused on two key areas: firstly, conducting aeroelastic model tests under wind load conditions during the construction phase; secondly, performing aerodynamic tests of the entire bridge model to verify its wind resistance during long-term operation and to establish a closed-loop safety verification process throughout the entire lifecycle of the structure.
At present, the project has consolidated the results of two rounds of testing, optimized measures to ensure wind resistance and reduce vibration during construction work, and created a comprehensive safety system covering the entire construction and operation process.
This bridge is an important infrastructure project within the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative. The commissioning of this bridge will solve the problem of transport isolation in mountainous areas due to snowy and icy roads in the winter season and will ensure uninterrupted operation of the Eurasian transport network.
The accumulated technical experience and safety assessment methods will serve as an important support for Chinese enterprises engaged in the construction of large bridges in complex mountainous conditions abroad, stated Yang Ou. -0-
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