At around 9 a.m. on July 5, the much-anticipated Changsha Xiangya Road Tunnel was completed and opened to traffic. Residents driving from the east bank to the west bank can now cross the river in just 5 minutes. This is currently the largest-diameter shield tunnel in Hunan Province and the largest tunnel project crossing the Xiangjiang River to date.

The Xiangya Road Tunnel is one of the 34 main roads in Changsha's "18 horizontal and 16 vertical" road network. It took 5 years to build, with a total investment of 5.328 billion yuan. The project starts at Yuehua Road in Xiangjiang New Area in the west and ends at Furong Road in Kaifu District in the east, with a total length of 4.18 kilometers. The tunnel consists of south and north main lines and four ramps, designed as a dual-tube, two-way, six-lane structure with a driving speed of 50 km/h. It is Changsha's first two-way, six-lane river-crossing tunnel.

At present, traffic in Changsha's central urban area is approaching saturation. Especially during rush hours, the Yinpenling Bridge along the Yuelu Avenue–Sanyi Avenue corridor frequently experiences congestion, putting considerable pressure on traffic. The completion and opening of the Xiangya Road Tunnel means the river can be crossed from the west bank to the east bank in as little as 5 minutes, which is of great significance for improving residents' travel experience, enhancing citizens' sense of well-being, and promoting smooth east-west traffic in Changsha's urban area.

According to reports, the river-crossing section was excavated using a domestic 15-meter-class shield machine. Through scientific research, the project team custom-built the "Xingsheng" shield machine, which incorporates numerous advanced high-tech technologies. It overcame complex geological challenges such as large-diameter, long-distance, high-strength rock strata beneath the riverbed, achieving a construction record of 270 meters of excavation in rock strata in a single month, providing a mature case and valuable experience for the development and utilization of underground space and the construction of similar river-crossing tunnels.

The Xiangya Road Tunnel is not only faster but also technologically upgraded. According to reports, the project developer, Changsha Urban Development Group, carried out an overall intelligent upgrade of the tunnel's monitoring system, public service system, and visualization system, achieving intelligent interconnection, digital data collection, autonomous inspection, and full-line radar-vision monitoring after opening. It also built a smart operation center based on an IoT platform and digital twin technology, creating a smart brain for tunnel operation and management. Tunnel operation control and emergency rescue are managed through "one-map control," enabling full-service visualization of real-time operational status, safety events, and equipment conditions, ensuring the safe and stable operation of the Xiangya Road Tunnel.

As one of Changsha's "Five Top Ten" infrastructure construction projects, the Xiangya Road Tunnel will connect the Hexi New Town with the city's main center, effectively alleviating the river-crossing pressure on the Yinpenling Bridge and Yingpan Road Tunnel. It will help build a new "grand transportation" urban development pattern in which "both banks of the river develop side by side and the east and west banks are linked and coordinated," achieving the goal of connecting lines into a network and ensuring smooth internal and external connectivity, and helping Changsha accelerate its development into a national comprehensive transportation hub center.