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After three days of emergency reinforcement work, Bahete Bridge in central China's Hubei province, an important junction in the Beijing-Kowloon Railway which was endangered in spring floods, has been re-opened to normal traffic.
Since Feb. 26, continuous rainfall has been contributing to rising water levels in the Bahe River. Uprooted by the strong current, the stack of the No. 23 pier of the Bahete Bridge, formerly set deeply in silt, came up out of the water, endangering the bridge.
During the past three days, the local government dispatched 4,000 members of the military and residents to carry out the emergency reinforcement of the pier. A total of 2,000 tons of stones and 150,000 bags of sand have been dumped into the river, and 30,000 pipes and posts have been set in the river bottom.
By 8:21 am Sunday morning, the railway had re-opened to normal traffic in the direction Beijing to Kowloon. By 10:05, it had re-opened in the other direction, as well. As a precautionary measure, train speed was restricted to 30 km per hour.
To ensure safety in the future, the country invested 20 million yuan to reinforce the No. 23 pier and the neighboring No. 21 and 22 piers.
(People’s Daily March 3, 2003)
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