China, January 23, 2007 - Thanks to Rheoplus technology, construction work on Asia's highest bridge is progressing smoothly.
In the mountain region of central China between the cities of Yichang and Chongqiong Asia's highest bridge is currently being built. This bridge will be the master piece of the last construction stage of the motor way between Shanghai and Chongqing: The road will run more than 200 meters above the valley below it.
The Unique conditions at the construction site demand particularly robust and reliable concrete admixtures. As the building site is located about 200 kilometers away from the nearest town -200 kilometers of narrow and windy country road through a scarcely populated area-the contractor is limited to basic equipment. In addition to that, fluctuations in the quality of cement and aggregates have to be compensated for. R&D manager Dr. Sven Asmus visited the construction site and advised the project management team while preparing the concrete.
Not surprisingly Rheoplus-developed in the Shanghai Research and Development Centre-was once again the concrete admixture of choice: superior slump retention, low pump resistance, and fine dosage control were the key characteristics of Rheoplus that eventually convinced the concrete manufacturer to give preference to this product for the remainder of the construction work.
Meanwhile, the bridge has reached a length of 90 meters. Work is advancing according to schedule, and the bridge will be finished by the middle of next year. This project, says Dr. Boris Gorella, Head of the Business Unit Admixture Systems Asia Pacific, strengthens the position of BASF Construction Chemicals as technology leader in China, and in the field of PCE technology especially.