CHENGDU, China, March 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 12 local time, the Norwegian Beitstad Bridge was officially opened to traffic. Beitstad Bridge over the Beitstad strait of the municipality of Steinkjer, Trondelag county in central Norway, was constructed by Sichuan Road and Bridge Group (SRBG), an affiliate of Sichuan Railway Investment Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as SRIG). This is the first project SRBG has independently tendered and won in Norway, and the second bridge that the group has constructed in the country.
Spanning over the Bettesta Strait, this steel-concrete composite bridge constitutes a part of the Norwegian County Roads 17 and 720.
Given a large number of turns and poor road conditions in this road section, which is incompliant with road standards and traffic demands, local government proposed a renovation project in a bid to refine the traffic condition and improve road safety and Beitstad Bridge has played an essential part in the proposed project.
SRBG stood out from bidders renowned at home and abroad with outstanding technology and rich experience, and took 26 months to complete the building of the bridge. Worthy of its name "A Bridge of Convenience," Beitstad has helped improve the local traffic, making commuting easier for residents living on two sides of the strait and linking the three towns of Sprova, Malm and Dyrstad closely together. Upon its completion, the bridge has injected new vitality to the infrastructure construction and economic growth of the local area.
The smooth progress of the Beitstad Bridge project is not by chance. As early as in 2018, SRBG was recognized by the Norwegian government and people for its efficient and quality construction of the Halogaland Bridge.
Situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle, the Halogaland Bridge is hailed as the "Bridge Neighboring Aurora". Due to the extremely challenging construction conditions, the Owner, Norwegian Northern Highway Bureau, sought for main contract contractors around the globe, which aroused extensive attention globally. SRBG eventually overcame all the difficulties in language, polar climate, and stringent "Nordic standards," won the bid and completed the construction, thus becoming the first Chinese company to build a long-span bridge in a developed European country.
The valuable experience in the bidding and construction of the Halogaland Bridge has paved the way for SRBG to build the Beitstad Bridge in a smooth manner. Based on the successful experience from the Halogaland Bridge project, SRBG has cultivated a host of engineers who are familiar with HSE and the technical standards of steel structure welding, painting and concrete construction in Norway and other parts of Europe, financial personnel who understand overseas financial accounting/audit rules, and contract engineers who are experienced in overseas bidding, bid invitation and subcontractor management. The management team of the Beitstad Bridge project is basically made up of personnel formerly working for the Halogaland Bridge project and those dispatched by the SRBG, who have immensely contributed to the project.
As a top-flight comprehensive multinational in the infrastructure sector, SRBG boasts core competitiveness in construction of deep-water long-span bridges, highway pavements, and extra-long tunnels of complex geological conditions. Its masterpieces include Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge, the reinforced concrete arch bridge of the world's largest span back then; Fuling Wujiang Bridge, the arch bridge without balanced weight swing of Asia's largest span at that time; and Xihoumen Cross-sea Bridge in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, 1,650m in the main span, China's longest and World's second longest suspension bridge then.
The Beitstad Bridge marks a major achievement in SRBG's response to the "Belt and Road" Initiative and "Go overseas" strategy, and another world-recognized China-made project following the Halogaland Bridge project. The two bridges in northwest Norway, 500km apart, have been acclaimed around the world for China's competence in infrastructure construction.
Currently, SRBG has extended its services to several foreign countries and regions such as Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Apart from the Norwegian projects, the group has undertaken international projects in Bangladesh, Kuwait, Cambodia, Tanzania and Senegal for construction of highways and bridges, among other projects.
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