The Xinshengpu Bridge has not been completed for more than three years. Photographed by Wang Jiliang, reporter of People's Daily Online

In Suzhou section of Wusong River, there are two old and new Shengpu Bridges. The old bridge is identified as a dangerous bridge, and motor vehicles are forbidden to pass; The new bridge has not been completed since September 2020.

When the main bridge of the new bridge was completed in the winter of the previous year, its red arched shapes looked like rainbows from afar, and once became a place for online red cards. In the eyes of Ding Jinye, a resident of Jinsongwan Garden, Shengpu Street, Suzhou Industrial Park, the current situation is not what he wants to see: "The total length is less than 3 kilometers. After more than three years, it is still a 'dead end bridge'".

As one of the ten projects benefiting people and enterprises in Suzhou in 2020, the reconstruction project of Shengpu Bridge is planned to be completed in December 2022, with a construction period of 28 months. Then, why is the construction of this bridge so slow, and when will the local residents expect the whole line to be open to traffic? Recently, the People's Daily Online reporter conducted an investigation.

The reconstruction of Shengpu Bridge was expected to be completed by the end of 2022

During the Suzhou Two Sessions in 2020, the Proposal 001 of the Fourth Session of the 14th Suzhou Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference on Accelerating Suzhou's Integration Process and Better Integrating it into the National Strategy of Yangtze River Delta Integration pointed out that the integration process between the city's ten sectors in many areas is relatively lagging behind, and there are problems such as separate investment, repeated waste and lack of scale effect, just like ten fingers can't hold a fist, It is difficult to achieve "group warfare". Since then, the "municipal integration" has been comprehensively strengthened in many places and fields in Suzhou.

As an important channel connecting Suzhou Industrial Park and Wuzhong District, the reconstruction project of Shengpu Bridge was also on the agenda that year.

According to the public information, the new Shengpu Bridge connects Weisheng Road of Suzhou Industrial Park in the north, starts at the north of Wusheng Road intersection, and connects Luzhi Avenue in the south, with a total length of about 2.48 kilometers, of which the main bridge is 260 meters long. On April 8, 2020, the minutes of the special meeting issued by Suzhou Municipal Government clearly stated that the main bridge was in the charge of the municipal water transport engineering construction headquarters, and the approach bridges and connections on both sides were constructed by Wuzhong District and Suzhou Industrial Park respectively. According to the work arrangement, Suzhou Transportation Bureau took the lead in starting the construction of the main bridge that year, and Wuzhong District and Suzhou Industrial Park strived to start construction and open to traffic simultaneously with the main bridge.

On September 8, 2020, the new Shengpu Bridge entered the substantial construction phase, which was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Ding Jinye said that everyone looked forward to the new bridge at that time and hoped that it would be opened to traffic as scheduled.

The old bridge controls the new bridge, causing traffic inconvenience

In November 2022, when the main bridge of the new bridge project was completed, the surrounding people did not see the commencement of the approach bridge and connection works at both ends, but soon came to the traffic control of the old bridge: the old bridge was built in 1995, and was identified as a dangerous bridge because of its large long-term load. In January 2023, the Traffic Management Bureau of Suzhou Public Security Bureau issued a notice to take the control measures of two-way prohibition of motor vehicles on the old Shengpu Bridge.

The old bridge will not allow cars to pass, and the construction progress of the new bridge is slow, so it is difficult to avoid traffic difficulties. Lu Jin, a resident of Luzhi Town, Wuzhong District, works in an enterprise in Suzhou Industrial Park opposite Wusong River, and has to detour more than ten kilometers every time he goes out. He calculated an account for the reporter. He drove around 20 or 30 kilometers every day, and spent an average of 500 or 600 yuan more on fuel every month.

Plum blossom piles and height limiting rods were installed in Wuzhong section of Laoshengpu Bridge. Photographed by Wang Jiliang, reporter of People's Daily Online

The reporter's field visit found that plum blossom piles were set up at both the north and south ends of the old bridge, and height limit poles were added in Wuzhong section, allowing only pedestrians and non motor vehicles to pass. The reporter drove 12 kilometers from the north end of the bridge to the south end of the bridge, taking more than half an hour. According to the local people, it only takes about 3 minutes to drive from the old bridge.

Many self driving residents, like Lu Jin, choose to take a detour on cross district commuting. At present, those who still take the old bridge are mainly office workers and elderly residents who are close to each other. "You can either ride an electric bicycle or walk on foot." Li Lin, a villager in Songgang Village, Luzhi Town, told reporters that congestion on the old bridge deck is common every morning and evening during peak hours.

Where is the project stuck?

Yan Sheng, the head of the Engineering Construction Section of Wuzhong District Transportation Bureau, admitted in an interview that various engineering approval procedures were obtained when the main bridge was started, but the relevant procedures for the approach bridge and connection on both sides were not obtained at that time, and the subsequent reroute of Wuzhong Section caused the overall delay of the project.

Yan Sheng explained that because the location of the Shengpu Bridge Reconstruction Project involves the planning and upgrading of the Dushu Lake Open Innovation Collaborative Development Demonstration Zone in Suzhou, it is necessary to optimize the alignment of the new Shengpu Bridge approach bridge, from the original line terminal point to the intersection of Linggang Road and Luzhi Avenue in the south to the intersection of Lusheng Road and Luzhi Avenue in the south, Therefore, the project proposal for the approach bridge and connecting line project has been adjusted.

The above-mentioned project relocation was confirmed in a special meeting minutes of Suzhou Municipal Government in September 2021 obtained by the reporter.

According to Zhang Chuanwei, the technical engineer at the construction site of the industrial park section of Xinshengpu Bridge, the construction procedures for the approach bridges and connecting lines on both sides will be completed by the end of October 2023 and will start in early November.

It took two years from the clear route change to the completion of the formalities, which in the view of the local people, the efficiency of "Suzhou speed" has not been demonstrated in this livelihood project. In this regard, Yan Sheng explained that the procedures of Wuzhong Section after the determination of the route change should start from scratch, including a series of procedures such as project proposal, project feasibility study, preliminary design, land use preliminary review, etc. "With so many events to run, the cycle is really long," he said.

So when will the Xinshengpu Bridge be completed? Zhang Chuanwei said that the main structure of the approach bridge in the park section is planned to be completed by the end of 2024, and it will be ready for opening to traffic in June 2025. Yan Sheng said that the Wuzhong section is expected to be completed in July 2025.

The reporter learned from Suzhou Water Transport Engineering Construction Headquarters that the old bridge will be demolished as planned after the completion of the new bridge because it does not meet the navigation standards of the third class channel and has potential safety hazards. Some local people worry: Since the old bridge is dangerous at present, is it safe for so many people to walk every day?

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