New Yalu River Bridge

Coordinates: 40°2′8″N 124°22′10″E / 40.03556°N 124.36944°E / 40.03556; 124.36944

New Yalu River Bridge in September 2016.
The New Yalu River Bridge under construction. The China side on the left and the Korea side on the far right, in early June 2012.

The New Yalu River Bridge (Chinese: 新鸭绿江大桥) is a road bridge across the Yalu River between Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea. The cable-stayed bridge, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long including the supporting roads,[1] is intended as a replacement for the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge. Construction began in October 2011[2][3] and is mostly complete and connected with Xingdan Road, but the project is stalled; North Korea has not built any roads connecting to its end of the bridge.[4] A barrier gate on the Chinese end next to a booth has been installed to prevents access onto the bridge.

Construction history

The New Yalu River Bridge was built as a replacement for the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, one of two other bridges in the area, to improve travel and trade between the two countries. The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, which opened in 1943, is only wide enough for a single rail track and a single reversible lane. Construction of the New Yalu River Bridge began in 2011, reportedly cost China $350 million USD to complete,[5] and has multiple lanes to carry traffic in both directions.[4]

It was originally planned to open in 2014, but due to delays on the North Korean side, the opening has been postponed indefinitely, as the bridge currently ends in a field outside of Sinuiju, North Korea.[6] There is very little activity connected with the bridge.[7] In October 2017, North Korea has demanded that "Beijing to cover more of the costs of building the border bridge".[8]

All the border crossing staff and the tax station are to be transferred to the new bridge when/if it opens.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Yu, Zhang (16 March 2016). "Chinese town on North Korean border faces bleak business prospects". Global Times.
  2. 1 2 "新鸭绿江大桥" [New Yalu River Bridge] (in Chinese). Baidu Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  3. ↑ New Yalu River Bridge (Hudong Encyclopedia) (in Chinese)
  4. 1 2 Lee, Nathaniel (5 May 2017). "China built a $350 million bridge that ends in a dirt field in North Korea". Business Insider.
  5. ↑ Talmadge, Eric (17 November 2014). "china's $350m bridge gets scant North Korean welcome". Associated Press – via Aiken Standard.
  6. ↑ Joseph, Devan; Associated Press (19 November 2014). "China Just Built A Massive $350 Million Bridge That Ends In A Dirt Field In North Korea". Business Insider.
  7. ↑ Wong, Sue-Lin (11 September 2016). "Bridge to nowhere shows China's failed efforts to engage North Korea". Reuters.
  8. ↑ "Report: North Korea soldier has no recollection of daring escape". UPI. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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