On the 22nd, the reconstruction and expansion project of the Zhongzhou to Beihu section of the Wuhan Ring Expressway, invested and constructed by Hubei Communications Investment Group, broke ground, and the reconstruction and expansion project of the Hubei north section of the Jinggang'ao Expressway is being fully advanced. The two projects are key projects of the national expressway network and the first batch of expressway reconstruction and expansion projects in Hubei Province, with a construction mileage of 188 kilometers and a total investment of 25.7 billion yuan.

　　Hubei North Section of Jinggang'ao Expressway: Expansion to Start Within the Year

　　The reconstruction and expansion project of the Hubei north section of the Jinggang'ao Expressway starts at Jiuliguan in Dawu County, Xiaogan City, and ends at the Wuhan West Hub Interchange, with a total length of 158 kilometers and an investment scale of about 21.6 billion yuan. It is currently the single expressway reconstruction and expansion project with the largest engineering scale and the highest investment amount in Hubei Province.

　　The Jinggang'ao Expressway is the first major artery running through the north and south of the province, with a total length of about 2,310 kilometers. The Hubei section was completed and opened to traffic in 2002. For a long time, the traffic volume on the Jinggang'ao Expressway has remained high, and the Hubei section has borne enormous maintenance pressure. At present, the Hubei north section carries about 40,000 vehicles per day on average, and during major holidays such as May Day and National Day, vehicles often queue up and remain stranded.

　　According to relevant personnel from Hubei Communications Investment, the project mainly adopts splicing and expansion on both sides, with separate new construction in some sections, expanding from 4 lanes to 8 lanes, with a design speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

　　It is understood that the reconstruction and expansion of the Jinggang'ao Expressway from Beijing to Henan and from Hubei to Guangdong has already been completed. The reconstruction and expansion of the Hubei north section is planned to start within this year, with a construction period of three and a half years. The construction of the project will further smooth the major north-south transportation artery of the country, promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, strengthen the comprehensive transportation hub function of Wuhan, and accelerate the pace of building Wuhan into a national central city.

　　Wuhan Ring Expressway: Shared Section with the Fourth Ring Road to Be Expanded to 8 Lanes

　　The reconstruction and expansion project of the Zhongzhou to Beihu section of the Wuhan Ring Expressway, which broke ground on the 22nd, shares the same alignment with Wuhan's Fourth Ring Road. It starts at the Zanglongdao Hub Interchange and ends at the Beihu Hub Interchange, with a total length of 30 kilometers and an investment scale of about 4.1 billion yuan.

　　A relevant person in charge from Hubei Communications Investment introduced that the reconstruction and expansion project of the Zhongzhou to Beihu section of the Wuhan Ring Expressway is an important part of the two national expressways, the Shanghai-Chongqing and Fuzhou-Yinchuan expressways, in the National Highway Network Plan (2013-2030), and is also a section shared by the Wuhan Ring Expressway and the Fourth Ring Road. The project is the first expressway capacity expansion and reconstruction project in Hubei Province.

　　The reporter learned that this section is the shared section of Wuhan's Fourth Ring Road and the Ring Expressway. At present, the Fourth Ring Road has been completed as a full loop. Except for this section, which has 4 lanes, the entire line is designed with 8 lanes. This section has become a traffic bottleneck, so it will also be reconstructed into 8 lanes by widening on both sides, with a design speed of 120 kilometers per hour and a planned construction period of 3 years.

　　The transportation department introduced that the commencement of the project is of great significance for improving the interconnection capacity of the national expressway network, building Wuhan into a demonstration city of a transportation powerhouse, and promoting the development of the Optics Valley Science and Technology Innovation Corridor and the economic and social development along the route.