Zaha Hadid Architects, working with Leonhardt, Andrä & Partner and Sinotech Engineering Consultants, have 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 increases connectivity between neighborhoods and reduces through-traffic on local roads within local town centers and from the congested Guandu Bridge upriver. The bridge also improves the northern coast traffic system enhancing accessibility throughout the region with the rapidly expanding Port of Taipei/Taipei Harbor, the region’s busiest shipping port.

The Danjiang Bridge also allows for the extension of Danhai Light Rail Transportation (DHLRT) system over the Tamsui River to connect the town of Bali and the Port/Harbor with Taipei’s public rail network.

The Tamsui River estuary is a natural environment flanked by the urban centers 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 minimizes its visual impact by using only one concrete structural mast to support the 920m (3,018 ft) road, rail and pedestrian deck made from steel. The bridge will be the world’s longest single-tower, asymmetric cable-stayed 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 minimize any interference with the views of the sunset from popular viewing points along the river. This single-mast design also minimizes structural elements in the riverbed in accordance with the increased protection programs of the estuary’s ecosystems.

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. Well done.