Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

THE trip for drivers from Shenzhen to Meizhou in northeastern Guangdong Province will be cut by 30 minutes from today with the opening of Xinghua Expressway.

The expressway, which links Xingning County and Wuhua County, is a key project of Guangdong’s 12th Five-Year Plan. The 84-km expressway, which has seven tollgates, is a major expressway linking Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway, Jinan-Guangzhou Expressway and Shantou-Zhanjiang Expressway, according to a report by the Information Times, quoting sources from Guangdong Provincial Transport Department.

Drivers from Shenzhen to Meizhou can take Boluo-Shenzhen Expressway and Huizhou-Heyuan Expressway before turning to Shantou-Zhanjiang Expressway and Xinghua Expressway. The trip to Meizhou will be cut by 30 to 40 minutes.

During the National Day holiday, the expressway, along with other expressways in China, will be toll-free.

Shenzhen police said the opening of Xinghua Expressway will greatly relieve congestion on Meizhou-Heyuan Expressway.

At a news conference yesterday, police estimated that the travel peak for vehicles leaving Shenzhen will start at 3 p.m. Sunday, the eve of the National Day holiday.

Heavy traffic on expressways is expected during the National Day holiday, especially on Oct. 3, the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The peak for returning vehicles is expected to arrive between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Oct. 8, the last day of the holiday.

Drivers from Shenzhen to Chaozhou can save one hour by choosing Chaohui Expressway, linking Chaozhou and Huizhou.

Police said roads to the city’s eastern tourist destinations will be heavy during the holiday week in the case of fine weather. The Shenzhen-Yantian No. 2 Passage, the Meisha section and Kuichong section of Yanba Expressway, could easily get congested.

To ensure traffic runs smoothly during the holiday, Shenzhen’s transportation commission will open 13 holiday routes to Dapeng from different parts of the city including Shenzhen North Railway Station, Futian Station, and Shenzhen East Railway Station.

Four holiday routes including one to Xiaomeisha and three to Dameisha will be put into use.

The three routes to Dameisha include the routes from Huangbeiling Metro Station, Minle Station and Universiade Station.

The service of regular buses departing from the Meisha area including M437, M520, 380A, 380B, 103, 308 and 387 will be extended to 2 a.m. during the holiday.