Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A ROAD project that will link the future Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor in the west and the Jihe Expressway in the east started Friday.

    The 5.7-kilometer road project includes an interchange flyover with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Riverside Expressway, which will provide access to the Shenzhen airport from both Shenzhen and other Pearl River Delta cities. Currently, the Shenzhen airport is not directly accessible from either Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway or Guangzhou-Shenzhen Riverside Expressway.

    The new eight-lane road will have a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour.

    It has a projected cost of 5.9 billion yuan (US$908 million), Shenzhen’s transport commission said Thursday.

    The construction of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission on Dec. 21 after years of changes in its construction plan.

    The project of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor will give Shenzhen direct road access to the western part of the Pearl River Delta, cutting more than 100 kilometers from the current journey. Currently, Shenzhen drivers need to pass through the often congested Humen Bridge to get to Zhongshan.

    According to a release by the Guangdong Provincial Transport Department, the corridor includes a 7-kilometer tunnel in the east and a 16.9-kilometer bridge in the west.

    The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor will begin at the interchange flyover at the Shenzhen airport, touch land on Ma’an Island in Zhongshan and end at the Hengmen Flyover, an interchange flyover with Zhongshan-Kaiping Expressway and Zhongshan Outer Ring Expressway.

    It’s hoped that the 30-billion-yuan project, which will link the two economic circles in the Pearl River Delta, will improve the area’s economy.

    It currently takes Shenzhen drivers two to three hours to reach Zhongshan via Humen Bridge. After completion of the corridor in 2020, the trip to Zhongshan from Shenzhen will be cut to 30 minutes.