Danjiang Bridge | Zaha Hadid Architects

The Sinotech Engineering Consultants and Leonhardt, Andrä & Partner joint venture with Zaha Hadid Architects has won the international competition to design the new Danjiang Bridge in Taipei for the Directorate General of Highways, Taiwan, R.O.C. Located at the mouth of Tamsui River that flows through the capital Taipei, the Danjiang Bridge is integral to the infrastructure upgrading program of northern Taiwan. The bridge will increase connectivity between neighbourhoods and reduce through-traffic on roads within local town centres by linking the Highways 2 and 15, with the West Coast Expressway (Route 61) and Bali-Xindian Expressway (Route 64). By also reducing traffic from the congested Guandu Bridge upriver, the Danjiang Bridge will greatly improve the northern coast traffic system and enhance accessibility throughout the region with the rapidly expanding Port of Taipei/Taipei Harbour, the region’s busiest shipping port. The Danjiang Bridge will also allow for the extension of Danhai Light Rail Transportation (DHLRT) system over the Tamsui River to connect the town of Bali and the Port/ Harbour with Taipei’s public rail network. The Tamsui River estuary is a natural environment flanked by the urban centres of Tamsui to the East and Bali to the west. The estuary is rapidly growing in popularity with both residents and tourists as a recreational area where people gather each day to watch the sun setting over the Taiwan Strait. The cable-stayed bridge design minimises its visual impact by using only one concrete structural mast to support the 920m road, rail and pedestrian deck made from steel. The Danjiang Bridge will be the world’s longest single-tower, asymmetric cablestayed bridge. The mast is designed and engineered to be as slender as possible and positioned to offer the best structural performance, avoid impeding the navigability of the river and also minimise any interference with the views of the sunset from popular viewing points along the river. This singlemast design also minimizes structural elements in the riverbed in accordance with the increased protection programs of the estuary’s ecosystems.

The Sinotech Engineering Consultants and Leonhardt, Andrä & Partner joint venture with Zaha Hadid Architects placed first in the competition. CECI and Nippon Engineering Consultants placed second; Aecom Asia and Resources Engineering Services placed third, MAA Group and Cowi placed fourth, with Oriental Consultants with Pacific Engineers & Constructors and Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants and Pacific Consultants with Taiwan Engineering Consultants and Yuang Engineering Consultants placing joint fifth.