Chongqing - The Shuangbao Grand Bridge, part of the second Chongqing-Hunan expressway in Chongqing Wulong District, has been awarded the prestigious Gustav Lindenthal Medal at the 2025 International Bridge Conference, according to the Chongqing Yuxiang Double Line Expressway Co., Ltd.

Shuangbao Grand Bridge on the second Chongqing-Hunan expressway. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

Recognized as one of the most influential gatherings in the global bridge engineering community, the International Bridge Conference annually grants the Gustav Lindenthal Medal to a single project worldwide. Often referred to as the “Nobel Prize” of the bridge industry, the award honors projects that excel in technical innovation, material breakthroughs, aesthetic harmony, environmental sustainability, and societal benefit.

Opened to traffic in 2024, the Shuangbao Grand Bridge is the world’s longest double-span continuous arch bridge. Its sweeping, twin-arch silhouette appears like twin rainbows in the clouds, blending seamlessly into the mountainous landscape and embodying the artistic potential of modern bridge design.

The project team introduced several breakthrough innovations, including a composite central arch base featuring shallow excavation and pile foundation and an automated control system for balanced construction of the connected arch ribs. These solutions addressed critical technical challenges unique to arch bridge construction in mountainous terrain.

The bridge also set three world records and achieved two national firsts during its construction: world’s longest span for a double-span arch bridge, world’s longest span for a cable-suspended system with an independent tower, world’s heaviest lift by cable-suspension in its structural category; first full-scale use in China of an intelligent cable control system to address asymmetry in tower suspension, first full use of 3D laser scanning and digital preassembly techniques.

The Shuangbao Grand Bridge is part of the 280-kilometer second Chongqing-Hunan expressway, which boasts an 80% bridge-and-tunnel ratio—one of the most technically demanding projects in Chongqing’s expressway construction history. Scheduled for full opening this year, the expressway will enhance regional connectivity in southeastern Chongqing and support integration between the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

(Liu Chong, a reporter from Chongqing Daily, contributed to this report's Chinese version.)