The Suzhou-Wuxi section of the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, which is congested every holiday, will gain a parallel expressway. Recently, the full environmental impact assessment report for the Wuxi-Suzhou section of the Xitai Expressway was published. This expressway, which connects Wuxi, Changshu, and Suzhou, is expected to start construction by the end of 2019 and be completed in 2022.
According to the environmental assessment information, from the perspective of the entire Jiangsu provincial expressway network, the Wuxi-Suzhou section of the Xitai Expressway connects to the already-built Xiyi and Shanghai-Nanjing expressways in the west, and links to the already-built Suzhou Ring, Sukuntai Expressways to the east of Taicang in the east. It utilizes the planned second phase of the Yanjiang Expressway project to connect with Shanghai's planned road network. This will not only enhance the functions of the traditional Huyi corridor, but also broaden the hinterland of the Taicang Port area. The project has a total length of 50.225 kilometers, all newly built, and is planned as a dual-direction, six-lane expressway. According to administrative divisions, the route length in Wuxi is 31.678 kilometers, and in Suzhou is 18.547 kilometers.
Since its two ends respectively connect to the Xiyi Expressway and the Suzhou Northwest Ring Expressway, this expressway links Wuxi, Changshu, and Suzhou. The project itself will also attract regional industries to gather along the expressway corridor, promote and facilitate the formation of new urban development axes in the project area, and optimize the urban spatial development pattern.