Recent construction collapse accident occurred at the Jia Zha Yellow River Grand Bridge on the Chuan Qing Railway, resulting in at least 12 deaths. Bridge experts, after preliminary analysis, believe that the main cause of the accident is likely due to construction quality not meeting design standards and lack of responsible supervision. The specific reason is likely a problem with the anchoring of the steel strands, leading to uneven stress on the strands, causing a domino-like fracture.
According to mainland media reports, the Jia Zha Yellow River Grand Bridge in the Qinghai section of the Chuan Qing Railway collapsed during construction on August 22 around 3:10 am when the steel strands broke, causing the collapse of the 108-meter steel beam arch rib into the Yellow River. The accident has already resulted in 12 deaths and 4 missing persons.
American senior bridge structural design engineer, Zhu Xueye, expressed his initial analysis and assessment based on related news reports and videos, as he lacked further investigation data.
Zhu Xueye first ruled out design issues, stating that China’s construction technology for such bridges is mature and should not have unreasonable design problems.
The Jia Zha Yellow River Grand Bridge, known as the “world’s largest-span double-track continuous steel truss arch bridge,” was undertaken by the Chuan Qing Railway Section 11 project department of China Railway Group’s “China Railway Bridge Bureau Group Company” and construction began in 2023.
Zhu Xueye explained how the stress on the steel strands became too great, likely due to anchoring problems, leading to the collapse seen in the video.
In bridge construction, the ends of the steel strands are fixed on specialized anchorages, which are then connected to the bridge and temporary cable tower erected, ensuring the temporary suspension of the bridge when the strands are pulled under stress.
He pointed out that if the anchorage is not done according to technical requirements, some strands will bear excessive stress, resulting in breakage and a domino effect.
Zhu Xueye noted that inadequate anchoring could be attributed to supervision during construction, as rushed nighttime work may introduce risks.
The Jia Zha Yellow River Grand Bridge was scheduled to be joined in August. The construction team rushed the work to meet the deadline, which contributed to the accident.
Zhu Xueye emphasized that construction during the final stages, especially the cantilever span at night, is the most risky time due to the high stress on the steel strands, further compounded by fatigue or lack of concentration during nighttime work.
The local government and emergency management officials mentioned that the hanging ropes vertically supporting the bridge broke, causing the incident.
According to the construction team, the direct cause of the accident was the breakage of the anchorage beam, leading to the loss of critical support for the steel strands, triggering a chain reaction like dominoes falling.
Zhejiang University professor of civil engineering, Peng Weibing, suggested that the accident was due to the majority of the connections on the single-side suspension tower breaking, which caused the bridge deck attached to the connections to fall. He indicated two possible reasons for the connections breaking: rope quality defects or construction errors.
He further stated that current monitoring technology may fail to identify partial cracks in the suspension ropes, especially when stress suddenly increases, potentially leading to instant failure. This accident exposes underlying technical and management flaws.
Lawyer Wu Shaoping shared insights from his clients involved in construction projects and material supply in China, highlighting how lax supervision and corruption can lead to the use of substandard materials.
He mentioned that corruption in construction projects often stems from subcontracting and each layer squeezing profits, pushing the final contractor to cut costs, risking quality.
Wu Shaoping opined that bribery of supervisors often results in superficial checks, with accountability often evading scrutiny in the long run.
Zhu Xueye mentioned that an investigation into the Yellow River Grand Bridge accident by the Chinese authorities might only yield a superficial explanation, as corruption and lax construction quality indicate deeper issues involving higher-level officials.
He emphasized that large-scale projects like this are not susceptible to corruption by ordinary construction units alone, suggesting involvement of higher government officials or departments. Therefore, expecting the Chinese government to impartially investigate its own wrongdoing seems unlikely.