Linking Zhubei, Qionglin, Zhudong and other cities and townships, Zhongzheng Bridge was opened by local dignitaries at 5pm on August 17, 2015. This is the seventh bridge completed by Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun in his six years in office. Zhongzheng Bridge is a new cable-stayed bridge, the pink color complementing the beautiful scenery of the river it spans.
The old Zhongzheng Bridge was completed at the end of 1981. It was badly damaged by typhoons Soulik and Saola in 2012 and 2013 respectively, the bridge piers destroyed by the water of the Touqian River, causing an 80 meter section of the road to crack. The county government obtained NT$352 million in central government subsidy and bore NT$118 million of the bridge cost itself. The bridge construction project began on February 10, 2014.
The new bridge is 855.3 meters long and 30 meters wide, the designed inspired by the painting Bamboo in the Wind by Ming Dynasty’s Tang Yin. The unequal distance construction technique allowed fewer bridge supports to be needed, reducing the impact of river scouring on bridge safety. Also, the main towers are 85.3 meters high and foundations extend 28 meters into the river bed, making it the tallest bridge in north Taiwan. To make the bridge even safer, Magistrate Chiu said that extraction of sand and gravel from the river will be banned and also lorries carrying heavy loads will be prohibited from using the bridge, to ensure the stability and safety of the bridge piers and bridge structure.