The Huangmaohai Cross-Sea Passage in Guangdong province has received the "Global Road Achievement Awards" for design innovation, becoming the province's first bridge project to earn the honor and the only Chinese project to win in the design category this year.

The awards were announced by the International Road Federation, a global academic organization founded in Washington, D.C., in 1948. Recognized as one of the highest accolades in the global transport sector, the awards honor excellence in design, construction, management, technological innovation, and sustainability across 12 categories.

Serving as the western extension of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Huangmaohai passage connects Zhuhai with Taishan in Jiangmen. Its main line stretches 31 kilometers, including a 14-kilometer sea span, and is built to six-lane expressway standards with a designed speed of 100 km/h. Landmark structures include the Gaolan Port Bridge, a 700-meter-span two-tower cable-stayed bridge, and the Huangmaohai Bridge, a three-tower cable-stayed bridge with twin 720-meter spans — the largest of its kind worldwide.

The design draws on Zhuhai Lighthouse and Canton Tower, using the "circle" as a motif and introducing innovative forms such as double-curved, waist-shaped towers and TY-shaped piers. These features balance aesthetics with engineering performance, establishing a new landmark for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

To meet challenges posed by frequent typhoons and complex wind conditions, engineers developed three aerodynamic technologies, including wind fairing, vortex-suppression grids, and inverted L-shaped plates. These measures, verified through wind tunnel tests, achieved dual performance control of high flutter resistance and low vortex vibration, representing a breakthrough in long-span bridge engineering.