The Xinjiang Road (from Tangqiao West Ring Road to the Shanghai-Nantong Railway) Expressway Upgrade Project begins on the west side of the intersection of North Ring Road and West Ring Road in Tangqiao Town, proceeds eastward, crosses over G204, passes under the Shanghai-Nantong Railway (currently under construction), and ends on the east side of the Shanghai-Nantong Railway, with a total length of 5.145 km. The service roads, with a total length of 4.031 km, are all paved with asphalt concrete. The project was completed, accepted, and opened to traffic in 2020. It features a single elevated section approximately 3.7 km long with six lanes in both directions and no traffic lights along the entire route. It reduces the shortest travel time from the city center to the high-speed rail station to about 5 minutes, making it the first elevated expressway connecting to Zhangjiagang City’s high-speed rail station. The opening of this project plays a significant role in accelerating urbanization, improving the expressway network, and enhancing the accessibility and convenience of the road network.

The project’s contractor, Jiangsu Gangtong Road & Bridge Group Co., Ltd., was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Zhangjiagang, a nationally recognized “Civilized City.” It is a provincial-level enterprise group specializing in the construction of highway subgrades, pavements, bridges, and municipal engineering projects. The company holds multiple advanced qualifications, including Grade 1 General Contracting for Highway Engineering and Grade 1 General Contracting for Municipal Public Works, and has obtained ISO 9001 Quality Management System and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certifications. In 2023, the company was recognized as a High-Tech Enterprise; in 2024, it received an AA rating in the Jiangsu Province Highway and Water Transport Construction Market Credit Evaluation and was awarded the Gold Prize in the Suzhou Gusu Cup for High-Quality Engineering Projects.

Thanks to its consistent product quality and strong industry reputation, our company partnered with Jiangsu Gangtong Road & Bridge Group Co., Ltd. to supply bridge expansion joints for Section XJ-2 of the Xinjiang Road Expressway Upgrade Project. The expansion joint installation work undertaken by our company was fully completed in early May of that year.

2. Superior Product Technology Ensures Safe Bridge Operation

Bridge expansion joints are a vital component of the superstructure, playing a key role in preventing structural damage caused by temperature changes, uneven foundation settlement, and applied loads, while also ensuring safe and smooth traffic flow and meeting waterproofing requirements. The expansion joints supplied by the company for this project were installed using standardized construction processes, including joint cutting and positioning, welding and installation, and concrete curing. They possess excellent bidirectional (horizontal and vertical) free expansion capabilities, effectively accommodating displacement changes in the bridge during operation.

During the project audit, auditors conducted on-site measurements of the bridge expansion joint dimensions, verified the specifications and quality of the guardrails, inspected the dredging work to clear blockages in box culverts and pipe culverts during the flood season, and conducted a comprehensive review of the project’s construction and maintenance status. The expansion joints provided by the company withstood rigorous engineering audits, and the quality of their installation was recognized by all parties.