Guizhou Bridge Completed for 7 Years Without Opening, Turns into Parking Lot

In Guizhou Province, Jianhe County, a bridge that was completed in 2017 has yet to be opened for traffic. A section of the bridge is still occupied by “nail households,” turning the bridge into a “headless bridge” and rendering it a parking lot. Recent videos circulating online have sparked discussions about the situation.

The video footage shows a bridge in Jianhe County, Guizhou Province, where a stretch of the road is blocked by several “nail households’ dwellings, forcing vehicles to take detours. Due to the bridge not being opened after completion, the locals have taken to using the bridge deck as a parking area.

According to reports by the mainland media Red Star News, the bridge at issue is the Yangasha Bridge in Jianhe County. Official information indicates that the bridge cost 150 million RMB to construct, with a total length of 279 meters and a deck width of 30.5 meters. The bridge passed inspection and completion in 2017 but has been unable to connect to the Yangasha Avenue ever since.

In March 2023, the Natural Resources Bureau of Jianhe County announced its intention to hold a public hearing on land acquisition compensation for the Yangasha Bridge, discussing compensation arrangements for the collective land of roughly 3.6 mu in Yangasha Street Village.

Currently, the southern end of the bridge that is not connected is the location of Street Village. Due to several “nail households” in the village, the bridge cannot be used properly and has even turned into a parking lot for residents.

Some netizens have noted that the villagers’ unanimous refusal to relocate may be due to inadequate compensation standards. Others question why millions of RMB were spent on constructing a bridge over a river that has become a “parking lot”?

Local officials responded on June 4th, stating that the bridge is not truly “headless” but that one end of it requires a detour to the main road below. They acknowledged that parts of the bridge deck are being used as a “parking lot” by residents and promised to strengthen management to prohibit parking in the future. They also claimed that the bridge would be “completed” this year, connecting the Yangasha Bridge to Yangasha Avenue, but there are still disagreements among several households regarding relocation and resettlement.