BEFORE the demolition of the Xuanmen Dam in East China’s Zhejiang Province began, Liu Shijin, 75, who worked on the project as a technician 45 years ago, visited it one last time to bid farewell.

The 144-meter-long dam in Xuanmen Bay in the city of Yuhuan had served as an important passageway for the island residents to go outside since the 1970s.

As technology didn’t allow the residents to build a sea-crossing bridge back then, a dam that can help improve transportation appeared to be a viable solution.

The dam was completed after three years of work and opened to traffic in 1977. For four decades, the 12-meter-wide dam played a significant role helping the small island city develop, which made the list of the top 100 county-level cities in China, with its GDP exceeding 70 billion yuan (about US$9.77 billion) in 2021.

However, the dam has made negative impacts on the environment. It blocked ocean currents, resulting in eutrophication in the surrounding water and shrinking fish resources. In 2017, the local government decided to build a bridge and demolish the dam. After four years of work, a six-lane bridge was completed, making the dam redundant.

In order to minimize the impact on the environment, a demolition timeline of three and a half months has been planned, said Wu Hua’an, an official with the city’s agriculture, rural affairs and water resources bureau.

A national wetland park has been built on the west side of the dam, and the demolition of the dam is expected to further improve the coastal ecology.(Xinhua)