CONSTRUCTION has started on the Qingdao section of the expressway linking Qingdao and Longkou in Yantai.

    The 155.1-kilometer expressway starts from Longkou in the north and ends in Qingdao in the south, passing Laixi, Laiyang, Jimo and Chengyang in Qingdao.

    The expressway is estimated to cost 7.1 billion yuan and require 36 months to be completed.

    The designed speed of the expressway is 120 kilometers per hour and is predicted to be used by an average of 37,000 vehicles each day after completion.

    The completion of the expressway will shorten the ride time between Qingdao and Yantai from 3.5 hours to two hours.

    In addition, the expressway will pass many industrial parks in Qingdao, which is expected to drive the construction and development of the city’s marine economic development zone.(Li Hao, Yu Feng)