During the golden period of expressway construction, accompanied by the roaring of machines, expressways under construction are gradually taking shape, winding through mountains, valleys, and plains across the land of white mountains and black waters.

 

By the end of this year, Jilin's expressway mileage will reach 2,629 kilometers. This is an inspiring figure for the people of Jilin!

 

With more than half the year gone, how is the expressway construction progressing? Can the opening targets be achieved smoothly? With these questions in mind, reporters visited multiple expressway construction sites to experience the speed of roads "growing" underfoot.

 

 

Accelerating preparation and construction, creating Jilin speed!

 

"By the end of this year, eight cities (prefectures) and 80% of counties (cities) in Jilin will be connected by expressways. The major economic route, the eight-lane expressway from Changchun to Siping, and the key tourism trunk line from Changchun to the Changbai Mountain scenic area will be fully open." Chang Xiaochun, director of the Provincial Department of Transportation, told reporters.

 

On August 25, at the site of the Siping to Changchun (reconstruction and expansion) expressway project, a wide and smooth expressway unfolded before the reporters' eyes.

 

"We are confident in completing the task ahead of schedule with quality and quantity!" Speaking of the expressway about to be delivered, Feng Xiuming, executive deputy commander of the project, smiled brightly.

 

"Since the left side of the project was completed and opened to traffic last September, construction on one side while traffic flows on the other has increased safety risks and difficulties. Under such circumstances, workers worked day and night in continuous shifts, eating and sleeping at the site, seizing effective working periods to ensure early completion." Feng Xiuming joked that he and other staff members squat on the road every day, and the road has become everyone's "linear office."

 

A similarly encouraging scene appeared at the Jingyu to Songjianghe expressway project site. On August 26, reporters saw that the mainline pavement construction was basically complete, and the Changbai Mountain Airport toll station at the project endpoint had been built, with staff busy debugging the toll and monitoring systems.

 

"To meet travel needs to Changbai Mountain during the National Day Golden Week, the project strives to be delivered before National Day." At this point, project commander Zhang Yu could hardly conceal his joy: "Once this expressway is completed, the travel time from Changchun to Changbai Mountain will be shortened to four hours. At the same time, it will improve the road network in the Changbai Mountain area, forming a three-dimensional transportation network integrating expressways, railways, aviation, and ordinary roads."

 

On August 27, reporters entered the construction site of Section 01 of the Tonghua to Meihekou expressway project and saw four road rollers in operation. On the other side, where paving and compaction had been completed, workers were busy installing corrugated beam guardrails and other traffic safety facilities. Electromechanical lighting works in the Xinhua Village No. 3 Tunnel were also proceeding simultaneously.

 

"The Tongmei project is located in mountainous areas, with many viaducts, tunnels, and high-fill and deep-cut sections, and a large amount of explosive materials is used. Facing such a severe safety production situation, we have established and improved the project safety production management assurance system to ensure the safety of construction personnel and project quality." Although the safety production situation is severe and pavement works have been affected by delays in the erection of highway-railway overpasses, project commander Zhang Yiao is full of confidence in opening to traffic on time by the end of October: "Completing construction tasks on schedule with quality and quantity is our responsibility, and every builder is duty-bound!"

 

 

The Hegang-Dalian expressway project within Jilin is located in the hinterland of Changbai Mountain, with sensitive ecological environments along the route. To protect the ecological environment to the greatest extent while constructing the expressway, the project applies the concept of green development throughout the entire life cycle of highway design, construction, and operation, running through all processes and stages of construction, and carrying out comprehensive green management.

 

Adding tunnel slag, cement, and fly ash into the material bin, mixing them in a mixer, pressing them into semi-finished products with a molding machine, steam-curing in a curing kiln with mother-child kiln cars, discharging to a lowering machine at 500°C, pushing to a stacking machine, and finally packaging with a baler—after just 25 seconds of block equipment processing, tunnel waste slag can be turned into qualified roadbed fill material. Reporters witnessed this process at the ecological block production base of the Hegang-Dalian expressway.

 

"Safety, ecology, landscape, and intelligence are our construction concepts for the Xiaogouling to Dapuchaihe section. Reusing construction waste such as tunnel slag is one of the important measures to build a green, circular, and low-carbon highway." Zhang Guangqing, commander of the Yanda section of the Hegang-Dalian expressway, told reporters that in addition, the application of multiple technologies such as topsoil stripping and oil-to-gas conversion has ensured project quality while protecting the environment and saving resources, achieving sustainable development through resource conservation and circular utilization.

 

"Protect green plants, jointly create an ecological Hegang-Dalian," "Equal emphasis on protection and development, coexistence of production and ecology," "Cherish resources for sustainable use, green the environment and purify the soul"... At the construction site of the Dapuchaihe to Fusong section of the Hegang-Dalian expressway, such conservation and environmental protection slogans can be seen everywhere. "Not destroying is the greatest protection!" This is what commander Cui Weiwu always says. To achieve this, before and during tree felling, the command center repeatedly emphasized the "felling line" and marked the "environmental green line." Under the premise of ensuring roadbed stability, safety, and construction operations, all native vegetation within the "environmental green line" is preserved as much as possible, and construction units protect trees prone to scraping with straw ropes or fences.

 

 

The construction of expressways has boosted sales of raw materials such as sand, gravel, cement, timber, and steel in surrounding areas and provided many local employment opportunities. In the long run, the completion and opening of expressways will greatly enhance the attractiveness of tourism along the routes and the foundation for attracting investment. The rich landscape resources, superior geographical and cultural-historical conditions of Changbai Mountain contain huge development potential, and the arrival of Wanda Changbai Mountain International Resort has added much color to Changbai Mountain tourism. "One of the important conditions for Wanda to invest here was that the expressway must be open." Chen Dongfeng, deputy director of the Fusong County Transportation Bureau, said with emotion: "Truly, one expressway has brought a series of changes! Wanda Resort provides 15,000 jobs, which not only boosted our local employment situation but also led some college graduates from other places who came here for work to buy houses and settle in Fusong County, driving the development of the real estate industry."

 

In addition to Wanda Group, well-known domestic companies such as Luneng Group, Qiangen Real Estate, Guangze Dairy, and Xiuzheng Group have successively invested and established businesses in Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain's unique natural resources are certainly superior, but its external environment and investment conditions are also important indicators for enterprises to consider.

 

Attracting many phoenixes to settle in good nests, expressway construction has played an indispensable role.

 

By the end of this year, the province will complete 379 kilometers of expressways, including the Siping-Changchun reconstruction and expansion, Tonghua-Meihekou, Jingyu-Songjianghe, and the Daling-Shuangliao section of the Changchun-Shuangliao project, adding 281 kilometers of new mileage.

 

The blueprint is drawn, and we seize every moment. For the expectations of the people, builders from all routes set goals ahead, shoulder responsibilities, clear obstacles, brave wind and rain, cut through mountains to build roads, and march forward.

 

Standing on the expressway interchange bridge and looking far into the distance, the expressway meeting the horizon appears like dark silk drifting toward the sky, complementing the gradually yellowing farmlands by the roadside, foretelling that Jilin is striding forward on the path of promoting a new round of revitalization and development, with a full harvest!

 

 

From August 25 to 28, during the four-day interview journey with an average daily travel of over 400 kilometers, we basked in bright sunshine on smooth and wide expressways and also muddied our feet at construction sites in continuous drizzle. Although there were bumps along the way, the reporter couldn't help but exclaim: to witness the rapid development of Jilin's expressways—happiness, on the road.

 

During the interviews, we often sighed that road builders have no good roads to walk on. They face the scorching sun and cold stars, step on sand, gravel, and asphalt, cut through mountains and split rocks, and build bridges over water. Gradually, in places without roads, standardized expressways extend, carrying happiness toward a bright future of enriching the people and strengthening the province.