CSCEC-built spiral tunnel officially recognised as world’s longest
24 May 2024
The Hankou Tunnel, part of the the Xinxiang-Jincheng Expressway, in the Taihang Mountains (Image courtesy of CSCEC)
A spiral tunnel in China, built by Chinese construction giant China State Construction (CSCEC), has been recognised as the world’s longest.
Guinness World Records has issued a certificate to confirm the status of the Hankou Tunnel on the Xinxiang-Jincheng Expressway, which is 4,457m in length, as the longest spiral road tunnel section in the world.
The Xinxiang-Jincheng Expressway spans 69.8km connecting the provinces of Henan and Shanxi via the Taihang Mountains.
The expressway’s spiral tunnel system consists of nine tunnels that wind through the mountain range, with a total length of 28km.
The Hanko Tunnel ranges in altitude from 784m to 893m, with a maximum elevation difference between the tunnel entrance and exit of 109m, and has a minimum radius of 70m.
CSCEC used BIM for the project, as well as identification codes for materials at the construction site to minimise losses. It also employed IoT sensors throughout the construction site to collect real-time data on ground settlement, arch subsidence and other measurements.
The expressway opened in 2022.
