 |
|
Photo taken on July 31, 2009 shows the
repaired Chediguan Bridge, part of No. 213 state highway, in Wenchuan,
southwest China's Sichuan Province. The bridge was reopened to traffic on
July 31, seven days after it was damaged by a fallen rock. No. 213 state
highway is a key traffic line linking Wenchuan County to other areas of
Sichuan. (Xinhua/Chen Kai)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
WENCHUAN, Sichuan, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A national
highway to Wenchuan of southwest China's Sichuan Province, the epicenter of last
year's magnitude-8 quake, resumed traffic on Friday, after five days of
suspension because of rock and mudslides.
Workers have built an embankment to support a damaged
section of the Chediguan Bridge, considered by locals a vital lifeline for the
reconstruction of Wenchuan, said Yang Yong, assistant chief engineer at the
Sichuan Dujiangyan-Wenchuan Highway Co. Ltd. The quake left about 87,000 people
dead last year.
Heavy rains hit the region last week, triggering
floods, landslides and mudslides. When huge rocks hit and broke a bridge support
on Minjiang River about 5 a.m. Saturday, seven vehicles on the bridge at the
time plunged into the river. Rescuers have found six bodies in the debris.
Yang, an engineer, said more than 100 meters of the
300-meter bridge collapsed.
"Workers used heavy machinery to infill 40,000 cubic
meters of earth in the collapsed part to allow resumption of traffic. In the
next stage, they will reinforce the bridge supports, and open sections of the
road damaged in the disaster," he said.
The bridge, reopened to traffic
in May after the earthquake, is part of the No. 213 national highway, Wenchuan's
major road traffic link to the outside world. More than 10,000 vehicles cross
the bridge every day.
 |
|
Photo taken on July 31, 2009 shows the
repaired Chediguan Bridge, part of No. 213 state highway, in Wenchuan,
southwest China's Sichuan Province. The bridge was reopened to traffic on
July 31, seven days after it was damaged by a fallen rock. No. 213 state
highway is a key traffic line linking Wenchuan County to other areas of
Sichuan. (Xinhua/Chen Kai)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
Special Report: 1st Anniversary of Wenchuan
Earthquake
