Editor's note: There is a group of road runners, they are hurried, dusty, rushing in their own trajectories, shining the tenacity of life, giving warmth and beauty to the city. On the occasion of the Spring Festival in the Year of the Tiger, the RedNet Changsha Station planned to launch a series of reports on "Walking the Grassroots in the New Year - Dialogue with Passers-by" to pay tribute to every figure of the New Year Changsha who struggles unceasingly. For you, for me, for home, for the country, a new journey has begun. Shao Guang finally lived up to the burden and was bent on rushing people.
Ding Wei and his co-workers welded the pipe segment connection plate in the tunnel.
Red Network Moment reporter Peng Chao reported from Changsha
Holding a protective mask in one hand and welding in the other, the welding torch spews out red welding flowers and emits a rhythmic "nourishing" sound.
Changsha Xiangya Road River Passage North Line is located 37 meters underground, and the excavated "Xingsheng" shield machine has arrived at the Hedong shield well. Near the Spring Festival, more than a dozen workers are still working in the tunnel. Ding Wei carried several pounds of protective gear and welding torches to accurately complete the welding of each connection point. Together with several welders, he was responsible for welding the connecting plates of the masonry pipe segments in the tunnel every day, and constantly increasing the rigidity of the tunnel outlet.
Ding Wei is 47 years old, a native of Bengbu, Anhui Province, and has been a dry welder for 30 years. In 2019, he came to the Xiangya Road River Passage Project, just in time to encounter a shield machine boring in hedong, with a maximum shield distance of 16 meters per day. Ding Wei needs to cooperate with the shield machine to ensure the safety of construction with welding. Welding more than 100 solder joints a day is something that Ding Wei has to repeat every day.
Dazzling arcs, splashing welding flowers, choking soot... As a welder, the arc temperature generated during the welding process reaches more than 4200 °C. Even in the cold winter, the welding flowers can be baked to make the welder sweat. His face and forehead were covered with beads of sweat the size of beans.
Working 8 hours a day, Ding Wei's eyes almost always stare at the welding points, "wearing goggles, but the eyes will inevitably be dry and itchy." If you are not careful, you will be burned by sparks. Picking up the sleeve of his wrist, Ding Wei's arm was covered with burn marks. "Welders just have to learn to protect themselves. After 30 years of doing it, I don't feel very hard. Ding Wei said, "The key is to like to do this line of work, like to do well." ”
Because of the needs of the project, Ding Wei could not go home during the Spring Festival this year. This is his second year in a foreign country. After work, Ding Wei and his sister video called and told her to have a good New Year with his wife and parents. "After years of wandering outside, I am used to working alone." Ding Wei said, "One day I put down the welding gun, I may not be used to it." ”