On the 19th, after more than 800 days and nights of construction, the left tube of the Xuefengshan Tunnel on the Wulong–Liangjiang New Area Expressway (hereinafter referred to as the Wuliang Expressway) was successfully holed through, marking the completion of all tunnels along the Wuliang Expressway.

The Xuefengshan Tunnel connects Wulong District and Fuling District and is the longest tunnel on the entire Wuliang Expressway. The left tube is 4,550 meters long and the right tube 4,559 meters, with maximum buried depths of 394 meters and 396 meters respectively. It is designed as a dual-tube, bidirectional tunnel with a design speed of 100 km/h. The project is invested by China Railway Development & Investment Co., Ltd., designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd., and constructed by China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway No. 6 Engineering Group Co., Ltd.

"During construction, shale oil and gas appeared on the tunnel excavation face. To ensure the safety and quality of subsequent construction, we organized expert demonstrations and promptly revised and optimized the construction plan," said Huang Zhong, chief engineer of the Wuliang Expressway project of China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group. Since entering the tunnel in March 2022, the project team has overcome geological conditions such as fractured rock masses, poor self-stability, minor gas, and shallow-buried unsymmetrical loading, rationally optimized the construction plan, and carefully organized on-site construction to ensure the smooth holing-through of the tunnel.

According to reports, the Wuliang Expressway is about 36.7 kilometers long in total. Once completed, the drive from Wulong to the central urban area will be shortened to one hour. It will also link the Ring Expressway, the Nanliang Expressway, and the Third Ring Expressway, further facilitating travel for residents.