On the afternoon of January 20, the critical control node of the Phase II Huaihe River-to-SeaWaterway Project—the Qingdao-Yancheng Railway protection and reinforcement works—was successfully completed. The project, constructed by China Railway No.4 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. under the agency construction of Nanjing Shangtie Local Railway Development Co., Ltd., finished the secant pileconstruction 10 days ahead of the original schedule. This marks a major breakthrough for this core railway-related component of the overall project.

A total of 1,174 secant piles were installed throughout the works, all executed using the full-casing method, providing a reliable technical safeguard for the safe operation of the existing railway.

Despite challenges such as extremely low clearance operations and an extremely tight schedule, the project team achieved scientific coordination and maintained 24-hour continuous construction. After eight months of intense effort, they successfully overcame all technical difficulties.

The early completion of this key milestone has created favorable conditions for the entire Phase II Huaihe River-to-Sea Waterway Project to be completed and put into operation as early as possible.