Island bridge reopened 4 months after accident

A file photo shows rescue work on Feb. 22, 2024, after a barge hit the pillar of the Lixinsha Bridge in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, breaking off part of the bridge. (Photo by Zheng Erqi/China Daily)

Residents of Sanmin Island in Guangzhou, capital of southern China’s Guangdong province, celebrated on Saturday as the Lixinsha Bridge reopened to traffic a month earlier than planned.

The bridge, which spans the Pearl River’s Hongliqi Waterway and was the island’s only road link, was closed for repairs in February after it was rammed by a barge on February 22, causing a central section to collapse. The incident left five people dead and two injured.

“The reopening of the bridge is a great relief,” said Li Zhigang, the project manager for the reconstruction of the bridge. “It effectively secures the livelihood of the island’s more than 9,000 residents.”

After the accident, residents had to rely on ferries or a temporary bridge that connected the island to a bridge upstream. However, the diversions significantly increased commuting times and farmers had difficulty transporting their produce to market. The accident also left island residents with a water shortage because a pipeline broke.

Huang Fulin, 49, said: “It used to take me over 30 minutes to get to my banana fields via a detour. Thanks to the bridge, it now takes only 10 minutes.”

Before the 787-meter-long bridge collapsed, nearly 100 trucks collected fruit and vegetables from the island’s farms every day.

Reconstruction work is ongoing and additional reinforcement of the bridge piers is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

Sanmin Island, which is about 10 square kilometers in size, has a primary school, restaurants, fishing grounds and tourist attractions.

The island’s main economic activities are fruit and vegetable growing and tourism.

(Web editors: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)