The "First Yangtze River Bridge" spans the north and south, turning the natural barrier into a thoroughfare

In 1957, many parents in Wuhan tried every possible means to associate their babies with bridges when naming their babies, such as Ai Qiao, Jian Qiao, Wu Qiao, and some even simply used the word "Qing Qiao".

At the same time, many products produced in Wuhan also use "Daqiao" as their trademark, such as the well-known Daqiao chicken essence and Daqiao brand sewing machines.

Is all this just a coincidence?

Of course not. This trend of following the naming trend originated from a bridge built in that year - the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.

➤Want to fly across the north and south

The Yangtze River, as the longest river in my country, flows through eight provinces, two cities and one region. It is not an exaggeration to call it the "Golden Waterway", but it is also a major obstacle to the north-south communication in my country.

There were a few lines of rhyme that were chanted at that time: "The Yellow River water, the Yangtze River bridge, can't be controlled, can't be repaired", which not only expressed the difficulty of controlling the Yellow River and building a bridge across the Yangtze River, but also expressed the helplessness and desire of the people on both sides of the strait.

The idea of ​​building a cross-Yangtze River bridge in Wuhan was first proposed by Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Huguang. In 1906, the Beijing-Hankou Railway was opened to traffic, and the Guangdong-Hankou Railway was also under construction.

The "Han" in these two railways refers to Hankou in Wuhan and Wuchang respectively, but because of the Yangtze River, Wuchang and Hankou are across the river from each other.

If a cross-river bridge can be built, it will not only improve local transportation, but also achieve overall connectivity between the north and the south.

The idea of ​​"building a cross-river bridge in Wuhan" was planned four times before the founding of New China, but it was always shelved due to financial difficulties, unstable situation and other reasons.

This also makes the people in both places feel more helpless. Is it really impossible to build a bridge?

After the founding of New China, this dream that generations of Chinese people wanted to realize was mentioned again.

Li Wenji, who was 63 years old at the time and had participated in the planning and exploration of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge many times since 1913, joined Mao Yisheng and other scientists and engineers to submit a "Proposal for the Construction of the Wuhan Memorial Bridge" to the Central People's Government, proposing the construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.

This time it didn’t fail!

The central government attached great importance to the construction of a cross-Yangtze River bridge and passed a resolution to build a Yangtze River bridge at the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 1949.

In February 1953, Mao Zedong went to Wuhan to listen to the report on the survey and design of the bridge by the leaders of the Central South Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. He also climbed up Wuchang Snake Mountain, one of the starting points of the planned bridge, to inspect it. This was his first visit to Wuhan after the liberation of the country.

➤Innovative construction methods

The construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was an important part of the first five-year plan of New China, and was also one of the projects assisted by the Soviet Union.

We asked the Soviet Union for help, not for anything else, but only to ensure that this major project after the founding of New China would not go wrong.

The Soviet Union sent more than 20 technical experts to provide technical assistance, among whom Konstantin Sergeyevich Silin (KSSilin) ​​(hereinafter referred to as Silin) ​​served as the leader of the expert group.

▲Chinese and Soviet experts are working on the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge under construction. The third person on the left is Xilin, the leader of the Soviet expert group.

The construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was originally planned to use the traditional pneumatic caisson method, which has been used in the construction of previous bridges.

A caisson is a box-type structure with a top but no bottom.

The pneumatic caisson method is to place a caisson filled with oxygen under the water, and there is a highly airtight waterless environment studio at the bottom of the caisson.

Construction workers enter the studio through pipes to work. As they dig in the middle, the caisson gradually sinks due to its own gravity or external pressure, and sinks as it is dug. At the same time, new shaft concrete continues to be poured in the part above water.

When it sinks to the predetermined depth, the bottom of the caisson is sealed, and then the working chamber is filled with concrete to serve as the foundation for heavy structures (such as bridge piers and equipment).

However, when the Soviet expert group arrived in China, Xilin felt that this method was no longer applicable.

Xilin opposed the use of the pneumatic caisson method for two main reasons:

First, the underwater working environment of the caisson is poor. When construction workers work underwater, every 10m of diving is roughly equivalent to an increase in pressure of one atmosphere. The construction diving depth is positively correlated with the pressure the workers bear, the amount of gas inhaled into the lungs, and the amount of gas dissolved in the blood.

When the workers finish their work and return to the ground working environment, the human body gradually changes from the high-pressure environment to the normal air pressure.

However, if the pressure is not reduced properly, the gas originally dissolved in the blood will expand rapidly and form a large number of small bubbles. The faster the pressure is reduced, the faster the bubbles are produced and the more they accumulate.

The nitrogen bubbles squeeze blood vessels and stimulate nerve endings, causing tissue hypoxia and damage, and in severe cases even death. This is the "caisson disease."

The second reason is that the water depth of the Wuhan section of the Yangtze River is nearly 40 meters. At this depth, under the working environment and conditions at that time, workers could only work in the caisson workshop for half an hour at most. Adding the time loss of entering and leaving, the actual working time was even less. The construction efficiency was low and the progress was slow.

Xilin suggested that the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge adopt a new construction technology - pipe column drilling method. However, it was still a new technology at that time, and even the Soviet Union had not practiced it.

The pipe drilling method is to drive a hollow pipe into the rock surface of the riverbed, drill holes in the rock surface, pour concrete into the holes so that they are firmly inserted into the rock, and then build the foundation and pier body on it.

Although this method is fast and safe, the Soviet Union had never tried it, so how could they dare to recommend it to us? Other Soviet experts were unanimously opposed, and this stalemate made our country's leaders embarrassed.

Therefore, after three months of discussion and half a year of testing, the bridge construction department proved that the pipe drilling method was indeed feasible. The then Minister of Railways Teng Daiyuan and Premier Zhou Enlai finally agreed to adopt Xilin's new method, on the premise that it should be tested on the Yangtze River first. Practice is the only criterion for testing truth.

It can be said that it was precisely because of Xilin’s correct proposal and our country’s firm and decisive practical attitude that the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was born. It was also because of the adoption of new construction methods that the completion date of the bridge was brought forward by two years.

On October 15, 1957, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was officially opened to traffic.

➤ Bridge maintenance

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge spans the Yangtze River with a total length of 1,670 meters. As a dual-use bridge for roads and railways, ships can also pass under the bridge, so the maintenance of the bridge requires great attention.

More than half a century has passed, and the maintenance workers of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge have changed three generations.

People have changed, but the attitude of striving for excellence and sense of responsibility of "people on the bridge, bridge in the heart" have not changed. The maintenance team checks for hidden dangers and maintains the bridge body on the railway bridge under the bridge every day.

In addition to the "solid physique" of the bridge itself, the bridge is also carefully maintained by the bridge maintenance workers. After experiencing dozens of collisions (because the bridge has a large number of piers and a short span, the probability of ship collision is also high), the bridge has not been greatly affected.

The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge has realized the great dream of the Chinese nation to turn natural barriers into thoroughfares.

This is not only the first double-track railway and highway bridge on the Yangtze River after the founding of New China , but also formed our country's own bridge construction team during the construction process, greatly enhancing our country's experience and strength in bridge construction.

The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, now over 60 years old, is still in service. Over the past 60 years, it has greatly promoted the development of Wuhan and also promoted the economic development of the north and the south.

There are now countless bridges on the Yangtze River, but the status of Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge remains unshakable.