Building a Fixed Link for North–South Traffic
The Jinpu Railway and the Shanghai–Nanjing Railway reached opposite banks of the Yangtze at Nanjing. Before the bridge, trains crossed by ferry. Construction had to resolve river spans alongside railway approaches, urban road connections and navigation. Survey and design work began in 1956. A 1957 design proposal considered possible sites, after which the Baota Bridge area was selected.
The final arrangement placed a four-lane road above a double-track railway. Including approaches on both banks, the railway bridge extended about 6.7 kilometers and the road bridge about 4.5 kilometers. Their different gradients and connection directions produced approaches of different lengths.
The Bridge Engineering Bureau and Its Partners
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Construction Committee, established in 1958, coordinated the project. The Ministry of Railways’ Bridge Engineering Bureau handled design and construction, with Peng Min directing work and Mei Yangchun serving as chief engineer. Wang Xusen led design of the main bridge’s steel girders, Cao Zhen handled on-site design, and Wang Weimin and Zhou Pu worked on approaches and bridgehead buildings. A technical advisory committee chaired by Li Guohao also discussed engineering questions.
Different specialties developed the bridge’s components together. Technical cooperation meetings beginning in 1958 brought research organizations and engineers into discussions of spans, foundations, geology, construction and architectural design. The surviving title page of the 1960 comprehensive construction design budget carries approvals from survey and design and bureau officials, reflecting review from specialist design through project management.
Underwater Foundations and Steel Girders
In January 1960, the steel enclosure for pier 9 was floated into the water, formally beginning main construction. Riverbed conditions varied, and piers used corresponding foundation forms. The drawing catalog lists steel caissons, double-wall steel cofferdams, tubular columns, and waterborne lifting and guiding equipment for different piers. Foundations and construction equipment were designed as coordinated systems.
The steel truss girders transmitted road and rail loads to the piers, with continuous girders of roughly 160-meter span across the river. Steel supply was critical. After imported supplies were disrupted, the project turned to domestic bridge steel development, and Anshan Iron and Steel supplied suitable 16Mn steel. In August 1967, girder erection and closure were completed; deck construction, ancillary installations and load testing remained.
Connecting Long Approaches to Both Banks
Double-curvature arches gave the road approaches a distinct appearance. There were 22 such spans near the urban areas on the two banks, or 33 when the 11 Huilong Bridge spans were included. Precast concrete arch ribs and wave-shaped elements were combined with cast-in-place portions, bringing component production, on-site assembly and structural action together.
The bridgehead towers mediated the transition between the high river bridge and the land approaches. The Architectural Society of China solicited designs, and Zhong Xunzheng’s red-flag proposal at Nanjing Institute of Technology became the design basis. Cost-saving revisions in 1964 retained three red flags, galleries and sculpture, with architectural and structural teams working together.
The Railway First, the Road at Year’s End
In September 1968, the Ministry of Railways, construction committee, Shanghai Railway Bureau and Bridge Engineering Bureau formed an acceptance and handover group. Heavy trains ran back and forth to test the steel girders and structure. A railway opening ceremony was held on September 30; the Shanghai Railway Bureau took over and began operations on October 1. Operational and managerial handover followed the ceremony.
Work continued on the road deck until its opening ceremony on December 29. Xinhua’s report in People’s Daily the following day recorded vehicles crossing the upper deck after the celebration and noted that the railway had formally opened on October 1. Both decks were now in use, directly connecting the Jinpu and Shanghai–Nanjing railways and roads on the two banks.