Construction background of Jiangmen Waihai Bridge

Seen from the map, Jiangmen looks like a peninsula. As a bridge connecting the outside world, it plays an important role in the economic and social development of "the first hometown of overseas Chinese in China". Bridges have become one of the important traffic facilities in our city. The bridge ended the isolation of Jiangmen Peninsula, accelerated the integration of Jiangmen into the developed areas of the Pearl River Delta, shortened the travel time of citizens and brought many conveniences.

Before the construction of the Waihai Bridge, people on both sides of Jiangmen and Zhongshan relied on the Waihai Ferry, which was the only way for Jiangmen and Hainan, Zhanjiang and Maoming to reach Zhuhai and Macao. However, due to the long waiting time for vehicles to pass, they have to stop every typhoon and foggy weather, which has a great impact on domestic and foreign exchanges and economy.

According to a set of historical data of the Municipal Archives Bureau, in 198 1 year, the number of crossing vehicles on offshore ferries reached 6 17, and in 1984, it increased to 107 1 vehicle, with an average annual growth rate of 20.4/kloc. With the increasingly frequent cross-strait exchanges, the number of people coming and going has gradually increased. However, due to the crowded ferry and the delay in time, passengers have great opinions.

1983, Li, who had just been transferred from Shunde to Jiangmen as party secretary, once returned to Shunde from Jiangmen. It took him eight hours, but just crossing the river delayed him for several hours. He thinks that if Jiangmen is not open to the outside world, no one will come to Jiangmen again. So, the plan to build a bridge on the Xijiang River began to brew in his mind.