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​World’s Longest Sea-Crossing Bridge Opens This Week Connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai And Macau Bridge

​World’s Longest Sea-Crossing Bridge Opens This Week Connecting Hong Kong, Zhuhai And Macau Bridge

Construction on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge first started back in 2009

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Have you ever been to the seaside and walked excitedly along the pier, only to suddenly spot the crashing waves in between the wooden slats and start freaking out a bit? No? Just me then, great.

If you're not a total wuss when it comes to the heady combo of deep sea, heights and creaking piers, maybe this new bridge might be one you can tackle - as it's the longest sea-crossing one in the world.

PA

The highly-antipcaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is due to open on Wednesday, with Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to attend an opening ceremony on Tuesday.

Connecting Hong Kong and Macau to Zhuhai, the bridge is 55 kilometres (34 miles) long - making it 14 miles longer than the width of the English Channel from Dover to Calais.

With a total of 420,000 tons of steel - that's the equivalent to 60 times the steel used to build the Eiffel Tower, according to Xinhua - the project features a 22.9km oversea bridge and 6.7 km undersea tunnel, connected by two artificial islands.

The departure hall.
PA

Construction first started back in 2009, meaning the historic bridge has been a long time in the making, but it's thought to be useable for another 120 years yet.

Mind you, that's not to say the bridge has been without controversy, amid many delays, overrunning budgets, corruption prosecutions and even the deaths of some construction workers.

A total of seven workers have died - and a further 129 injured - since construction began, with many having slipped or fallen. The project is also believed to have run to over 130 billion yuan (£14 billion), according to the Daily Mail.

However, officials say that it will help businesses by cutting travel time by a whopping 60 percent, making it a key part of China's plan for a Greater Bay Area - covering 56,500 square kilometres (21,800 square miles) across 11 cities in south China.

Frank Chan, Hong Kong's Secretary for Transport and Housing, has said that travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong International Airport will be shortened from four hours to about 45 minutes.

"It is envisaged that the collaboration between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in terms of trade, finance, logistics and tourism will be strengthened," he said at a press briefing on Friday.

Thankfully, it looks a tiny bit less rickety than those seaside piers I'm used to...

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News, China