THE road project to expand the western section of Shenzhen-Shantou Expressway will start before the end of the year.

The section between Longgang in Shenzhen and Lufeng in Shanwei will be expanded from the present four lanes to eight lanes, according to an environmental impact report released by the Guangdong Provincial Ecology and Environment Department. It will be linked with Huiyan Expressway on the Shenzhen side and the interchange with Eastern Cross-border Expressway at Jinqian’ao Flyover.

The project is budgeted at 29.6 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion). The section runs about 146 kilometers from Tanxi Township in Lufeng to Longgang in Shenzhen, passing through downtown Shanwei, Huizhou and Pingshan District in Shenzhen.

Due to the increase in vehicle traffic since 1996, after more than a decade of operation, the section has been blamed for congestion because vehicles from other expressways, like Chaohui Expressway and Guanghui Expressway, converge on the expressway section.

In 2018, the section between Longgang and Haifeng saw 45,539 vehicles a day. As the section only has four lanes, traffic flow experiences a bottleneck there. As more expressways are being planned to connect with Shenzhen-Shantou Expressway, it is urgent to start renovation on the section.

The renovation includes building 22.87 kilometers of new expressway and renovating 123 kilometers of existing expressway. After the expressway is expanded to eight lanes, the speed limit will increase from the present 100 kilometers per hour to 120 kilometers per hour.

It is expected to be put into operation at the end of 2024.

(Han Ximin)