An aging overpass in Beijing was scheduled to be replaced with a new one weighing 1,300 metric tons—all within 24 hours starting November 13.

Sanyuanqiao overpass is one of the busiest traffic hubs in the city. Image credit: Kentaro Iemoto under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.If the job is completed as planned, it will set a record in China for the shortest replacement time involving such a large structure in a heavily trafficked downtown area, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport says in a post on its website.

The new bridge will be installed at the Sanyuanqiao overpass on Third Ring Road, which links the city with Beijing Capital International Airport. According to the report, it is one of the busiest traffic hubs in the city. Each day is served as a route for more than 200,000 automobiles and buses from 48 routes carrying 726,000 passengers.

Insert image here: The project will showcase China's first-ever use of dollies that are capable of carrying 1,000 tons. The dollies will move prefabricated bridge pieces and install them fully intact, according to Hou Xiaoming, deputy director of the commission's road management department.

Workers have prepared buttresses inside and outside Third Ring Road to prop up the new bridge span as well as old sections. Workers will cut the old bridge into 18 pieces and move them to the buttresses. The new bridge will then be moved into place using two of the dollies to rejoin the exposed ends of the road.

Hou says that, if successful, the method could serve as a model for other cities to follow to rebuild bridges in busy downtown areas with heavy traffic.