国内英语新闻:Major work on world's longest sea bridge passes evaluation

GUANGZHOU, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Major work on the world's longest sea bridge has passed authorities' evaluation, after its completion in December, according to a Tuesday conference.

The project check and acceptance conference of the 55-km-long bridge, which links Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao, was held in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. The bridge took six years of preparation, and eight years to build.

According to the conference, the quality of the main structure of the bridge is up to standard and reliable. The bridge is suitable for trial operation.

Major work on the bridge consisted of a 22.9-km-long main bridge, a 6.7-km-long tunnel and an artificial island off the bridge, which was considered the most technically demanding part of the whole construction.

"The bridge will be put into trial operation after its port project is completed and taken over by customs, inspection and quarantine, and border control authorities," said Zhang Jinwen, project director with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Authority.

The bridge will slash the travel time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai from three hours to just 30 minutes, further integrating cities in the Pearl River Delta.