Greater Bay Area builder: Cheng Chaolong, youngest chief engineer in Nansha

Cheng Chaolong [Photo/gznsnews.comn.cn]

Cheng Chaolong, 29, is the youngest chief engineerof China Railway Engineering Corporation（Guangzhou).

In 2014, he graduated from Chengdu University with a major in bridge construction, and joined the Guangzhou's China Railway Engineering Corporation. So far, he has participated in the design work of Shenzhen-Maoming Railway, Shuangshui Station, Wuhan-Shiyan Intercity Railway and Yibin Tower.

As the chief technical officer of the Longxuenan Super Bridge of Nansha Port Railway, he is building the first railway of the Nansha Free Trade Zone. From early morning to late night, Cheng stays at the construction site. He has been eating and living on the construction site since the construction began more than two years ago.

"The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is being fully accelerated. As an important national railway project, Nansha Port Railway is responsible for the important transportation functions of opening the sea-rail way," he said.

 At present, the lower structure of the bridge and the steel mixing section of the main bridge have been completed. It is expected that on March 20, the steel beam of Longxuenan Super Bridge's main bridge will be erected.

Cheng has participated in each process from the preparation of construction plans, start-up reports, and materials control accounts, to the relevant procedures for each period of inspection and pricing.

During the pouring of concrete, rainwater was found on one occasion pouring from the discharge port of the concrete tanker. If left unattended, it would have prematurely condensed the concrete and affected the quality of the bridge. At that time, the workers were working in the cofferdam under the bridge, and it was too late to come to the rescue. Cheng led a team of eight people, and rushed into the heavy rain. His team covered all 10 tanker discharges in 10 minutes.“The concrete was kept, but we all drowned,”he said.

Because of his hard-work, the construction period was reduced for many important segments such as the simultaneous constructions of the main tower and the tower beam, and the pile foundation and the cofferdam.

Today, Longxuenan Super Bridge is a well-known model project, attracting workers from other construction projects for on-site learning visits.

The bridge can withstand a magnitude seven  earthquake and a level 12 typhoon. As a railway super bridge, it has strict requirements on the proportion of concrete used in its construction.

Longxuenan Super Bridge is the first special bridge of Nansha Port Railway. The main bridge is designed as a double-tower hybrid girder structure with a total length of 830 meters, and is the key control component of the entire railway.

After the completion, containers at the Nansha Port terminal will be able to be transported by rail to all parts of the country.

The bridge will also allow connection by China-Europe trains and realize sea-rail combined transportation, which will greatly enhance the radiation capacity of Guangzhou Port and help the area to provide better business services.