Hemei Bridge
The World's longest mono-cable suspension bridge
Xiamen's Hemei Bridge is a mono-cable suspension bridge - the longest of its type in the world and part of the 23 km long Xiamen Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
- Location
- Xiamen, China
- Category
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridges
- Year
- 2017 - 2020
- Client
- Xiamen Municipal Construction Development Co., Ltd.
- Collaborators
- XMEDI – Xiamen Municipal Engineering Design Institute / Schlaich Bergermann Partner / Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
- Size
- Total length 235 m
- Awards
- IUPA Awards finalist
The Hemei Bridge is one of the signature bridges in the grand mobility project Xiamen Mountains-to-Sea Trail (former Xiamen Health Footpaths) initiated by the City of Xiamen to connect its urban centers with the surrounding nature on the island. The network also improves safety for children going to and from school.
A safe passage
Hemei Bridge is located at the most prominent spot among the bridges, as most visitors to Xiamen pass under it when entering the Island via Haicang Bridge. It provides a safe and intersection-free passage for pedestrians between Xianyue Park and Huweishan Park, including children walking to and from school.
It decouples slow-moving pedestrian traffic on the bridge from the fast-moving vehicular traffic on the 17 lanes below. The curved bridge deck harmoniously connects the trajectories of the pedestrian walkway at both ends of the bridge.
The sculptural appearance of the bridge mast and bridge deck creates a welcoming gesture to visitors arriving to Xiamen. Design for special surroundings
The layout of the streets and the steep slopes at both ends of the bridge limit the space available for bridge piers to a large traffic island. The bridge design reflects these unique boundary limitations and requires only a single guyed mast. Combining the curved bridge deck with a mono-cable suspension bridge results in a structural system that can support a free span of nearly 220 metres.
The curved bridge deck allows for a very slender deck cross-section, as both torsion and bending moments are comparatively small. The rotating moment created by the eccentrically arranged hanger cables is transferred through a compression ring in the upper flange and a tension ring in the lower flange of the hollow-box section of the bridge.
The grand mobility project connects residential areas and provides a safe route for kids going to and from school. Seven large-span bridges span over existing infrastructure or natural topology. The designs are intended to stand out from the simplicity and repetitiveness of the regular footpath.
Carefully designed details underline the honest character of the bridge and the light-weight design philosophy behind it. All details are well-designed and well-engineered, exposed and reduced to the structural minimum. Thus, the knowledgeable observer can read and follow the flow of forces through the cable net and steel work to the spectacular spherical bearing at the base of the mast.
The Hemei Bridge is the most ambitious crossing in Xiamen’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail due to its pioneering size and the small footprint available for the pylon. The bridge fits into its surroundings and its light-weight construction with its cable net and slender bridge deck make the bridge seem as if it hovers effortlessly above the hectic streets.
Dissing+Weitling won Mountains-to-Sea Trail in an international competition. The project is one of several examples of how the drawing office creates green mobility in China.