A total of 761 bridges will be built over the "middle route" of China's massive south-north water diversion project, said You Ling, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Traffic Department of Yangtze River Design Institute.
The "middle route" is 1,427 kilometers long and runs through five provinces and municipalities where the road networks are well-developed. The massive project, which began construction in December 2002, will divert water from the Yangtze to the country's drought-affected north via three routes, the eastern, middle and western. The first phase of construction of the eastern and middle routes will cost 124 billion yuan (US$14.94 billion).