A 3.4-KILOMETER section of Shahe Road, which is meant to link Longgang Busha Road near Shawan Checkpoint in the west and Baohe Road in the east, has been left unfinished for a decade.

    The road is an important road for trucks. It follows Longgang Boulevard and Shuiguan Expressway. Construction of the 17-kilometer road started in July 2004 and the road was scheduled to open before the Spring Festival of 2006.

    In December 2010, a 14.3-kilometer section of the 1.55 billion yuan (US$236.99 million) project opened to traffic, yet the 3.4-kilometer stretch near Yanpai Expressway remains unfinished, being the longest unfinished road in Shenzhen.

    The western section of Shahe Road was originally designed to pass beside Shenzhen Reservoir but the project was rejected after an assessment by environmental authorities. Construction was halted because of relocation cost disputes, though experts have adjusted plans dozens of times.

    The city government approved the construction of a 1,500-meter tunnel through Dawang Mountain and a 900-meter bridge over a corner of Shenzhen Reservoir at a meeting in February 2010. The project would link Longgang with Luohu District.

    The Longgang District Government filed a redesigned plan with the city government for approval, predicting construction could take five years. The tunnel project was planned to be finished in 2016 and the bridge project in 2017. Yet the plan was halted because the bridge would cross over Shenzhen Reservoir, a protected water source, and thereby requires approval by provincial authorities.

    “As the adjustment plan for ecological protection of Shenzhen Reservoir hasn’t been approved by provincial environmental authorities, the road project was halted again,” the Longgang District Public Works Bureau said.

    (Han Ximin)