On August 30, the Landiling Tunnel on G346 National Highway in Huoshan County, which has drawn widespread public attention, opened to traffic. The tunnel's operation has completely removed the transportation bottleneck constraining the county's southwestern mountainous area and greatly improved travel conditions for the people of the Liuan mountainous area and the Yingshan area of Hubei.
According to reports, the Landiling Tunnel is 2,138 meters long. It is a two-slope tunnel with a two-way, two-lane design speed of 40 km/h, a width limit of 9 meters, a height limit of 5 meters, and a construction cost of about 78 million yuan. Construction formally began on October 9, 2016, and the tunnel was holed through on September 16, 2017. Before the Spring Festival of 2018, the main tunnel works and electromechanical installation were completed. Later, affected by rain and snow before the 2018 Spring Festival, a large-scale landslide occurred at the already completed project site (at Laoyingzui). After unloading and treatment, the tunnel met the conditions for safe traffic. The construction of the Landiling Tunnel will lower the elevation of the original road section by 98 meters and shorten the road distance by 3 kilometers. In particular, it resolves the bottleneck constraints of steep slopes, sharp curves, and winter rain and snow obstruction on this section, fully opening a road to poverty alleviation and prosperity, and will greatly promote poverty alleviation in the deep mountainous areas, rural revitalization, and the construction of the "Western Mountain Medicine Treasury."
As an important node project of the Heishidu–Daoshichong section of G346 National Highway, the opening of the Landiling Tunnel marks the completion of the entire first-phase reconstruction project. G346 National Highway is the main transportation artery of Huoshan County and an important interprovincial trunk highway linking Anhui and Hubei. Together with the Dabie Mountains Tourism Poverty Alleviation Expressway, it forms a complete transportation loop in Huoshan County.