NANJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- A road-rail cable-stayed bridge with the world's longest span opened to traffic in east China's Jiangsu Province Wednesday.

The 11,072-meter bridge over the Yangtze, China's longest river, links Nantong and Zhangjiagang, two cities in Jiangsu. It has a six-lane expressway on the upper deck and four railway tracks on the lower level.

With a main span of 1,092 meters, it is the world's first road-rail cable-stayed bridge with a main span of over 1,000 meters, said Yan Zhigang, deputy chief engineer at the bridge construction headquarters.

The project used 480,000 tonnes of steel, around 12 times that consumed by the main stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, "Bird's Nest." The bridge also used 2.3 million cubic meters of concrete.

The bridge can withstand violent typhoons and impact due to collision with a 100,000-tonnage ship.

The bridge is expected to ease pressure on road and railway traffic while promoting the regional integration of the Yangtze River Delta.

Last year, China unveiled an outline of the regional integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, which is one of the country's most economically active, open and innovative regions, and produces about one-fourth of the national GDP. Enditem

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