Currently under construction, the Chongqing Caiyuanba Bridge will carry six lanes of highway and two pedestrian walkways on its upper deck, plus two tracks of monorails on its lower deck. Scheduled to open to traffic in 2007, this 420 meter tied-arch span will be a world record of its type. Chongqing is a hilly city with a population of 32 million at the midwestern region of China. The Caiyuanba Bridge (Figure 1) is in the metropolitan area of the city. It crosses the Yangtze River and connects the Yuzhong, or the central district, with Nanan, or the south bank of the City. It carries six lanes of highway on its upper deck and two tracks of monorails on its lower deck. The 420 m (1,378 ft) span is currently the world's longest arch span for dual highway and rail traffic. The entire project is rather significant. Besides the tied-arch main spans, there are the south and north approaches, the Sujiaba Interchanges connecting the main bridge to the southern shore, and the Caiyuanba Interchange connecting it to the northern shore. The length and the location of the main spans were determined by the Waterway Department of the Ministry of Communications after a careful study of the navigation in the area.
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