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It’s kind of common knowledge that bridges and skyscrapers are designed to move with the wind but probably not to this degree—and most definitely not while you’re on it. The Humen Pearl River Bridge located in southern China had to be closed on Tuesday after it started visually undulating as if it was made of plastic, floating directly on top of the waters that lay below.
From Taiwan News, Chinese officials said that the concrete waves were caused by strong winds which created a “massive vortex.” Because of the same winds, the waters around the bridge also reportedly had to be closed later that evening. Despite how terrifyingly disconcerting this looks especially with a full load of traffic casually inching along, the Taiwan News report also cites “experts” in saying that the movement is normal and “within a certain range,” doesn’t represent a safety hazard.
Engineers also allegedly told the Guandong Transportation Group that the bridge was inspected and that they found the main structure undamaged. This, however, apparently came from Chinese state-run media, so take it for what it’s worth.
Now, I can’t understand Mandarin but judging from this person’s tone and the fact that they’re filming, it doesn’t sound like this is something that happens every day here.
Measuring over 2.2 miles long, the Humen suspension bridge connects the cities of Guangzhou and Dongguan, is located approximately 40 miles northwest of Hong Kong, and was completed in 1997. Last April, another bridge was opened to help divert heavy traffic away from the Humen called the Nansha Bridge. Something tells us traffic on the Nansha is about to get real heavy from here on out.
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