The construction of the 2.22 billion yuan ($344.08 million) China-DPRK Yalu River Highway Bridge is on schedule. It will be completed and open to traffic in July 2014.

Construction is currently underway to erect two auxiliary bridges that extend to the center of the Yalu River.

The construction of pier No 22, the main pier used as a crane support, started on September 5. Meanwhile, two 100-meter-long auxiliary piers have been installed to construct the highway bridge, said an on-site staff with the Dandong Municipal Bureau of Transportation.

The bridge is 3,030 meters long, with its main body 1,266 meters long. As a twin-pylon double-plane-cable-stayed bridge, four lanes will be accessible to traffic when it opens.

Built in 1937, the Yalu River Bridge serves as the only land route that connects Liaoning province to North Pyongyang province of the DPRK. Before its reconstruction, the bridge had a single-lane that only allowed access to vehicles weighing less than 20 tons.

On February 25, 2010, the Chinese central governments and the DPRK signed a bilateral agreement on the construction of a new Yalu River highway bridge to facilitate the economic and trade links between the two countries.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Tania Lee