Sidu River Bridge, China

The Sidu River Bridge is a 1,222 m-long suspension bridge crossing the valley of the Sidu River near Yesanguan in Badong County of China. The bridge was designed by Second Highway Consultants Company, Limited. and built for 720 million yuan (approximately US$100 million). It opened to traffic on November 15, 2009.

The first part of the suspension cable installed, a rope known as the pilot cable was the first-ever to be placed using a rocket. Conditions at the Sidu River Bridge's location would not allow the use of boats or helicopters, which have previously been used to string the first cable. The rockets carried the pilot cables across on October 6, 2006, and resulted in time and cost savings.

Sidu River Bridge spans just over 5,000 feet across the river valley and was so far across that the builders had to use a rocket to string the first pilot line across the gap. The hefty length is supported by two massive, H-shaped towers, one at either end of the road. The Warren-type trusses were constructed in 71 sections with the largest section weighing 91.6 metric tons. The trusses are 6.5 m tall and 26 meters wide. The suspension lines dip in the middle and rise back up again, looking more than a little flimsy for such a massive span.

This is not to say that the Sidu River Bridge is not safe, as the huge amounts of steel and concrete that make up the bridge should be more than adequate to hold any amount of vehicles that might want to make the trip across.