NANNING, Feb. 1 -- Tian'e Longtan Bridge, a steel-reinforced concrete arch bridge over 600 meters long, opened to traffic on Thursday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The bridge over Hongshui River, situated in Tian'e County in Hechi City of Guangxi, is a two-way four-lane bridge with a total length of 2,488.55 meters. It is the world's longest steel-reinforced concrete arch bridge in terms of span.

The opening of the Tian'e Longtan Bridge marks the completion of the Nantian Expressway which links Nandan County and Tian'e County of Guangxi, reducing the trip time from a 1.5-hour drive to a 40-minute drive. The construction of the bridge's main structure began in December 2020.

The completion of the Tian'e Longtan Bridge will become a milestone in the evolution of concrete arch bridges. Numerous challenges were overcome and innovations were achieved during the bridge's construction, paving the way for future development of concrete arch bridges, especially their uses on mountainous highways and railways, said Zheng Jielian, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.