The main pier pile foundations of the Lianshui Grand Bridge, the advance start-up point and a key control project of the entire G9907 Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Metropolitan Area Ring Expressway Shaoshan-Xiangxiang Section (Shaoshan Expressway South Extension), have been successfully poured, marking entry into the construction phase of the main bridge pile caps. This lays a solid foundation for completing the main pier pile caps above water level before the end of March 2026 and ensuring safe passage through the flood season.

      As an important component of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Metropolitan Area Ring Line in the National Highway Network Plan (2021-2035). The project route starts at Yintian Town, Shaoshan City, connects with the Shaoshan Expressway, crosses over the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, passes through Dongjiao Township, Xiangxiang City, and ends at Meiqiao Town, Xiangxiang City, connecting with the G6022 Liling-Loudi Expressway. The project is the southern closed-loop section of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Metropolitan Area Ring Line (G9907), with a total length of approximately 26.949 kilometers. The estimated total investment of the project is 4.49673 billion yuan, constructed to a two-way four-lane expressway standard with a design speed of 120 km/h and a construction period of three years. The entire line has four interchanges: Yintian (hub), Yunhuqiao (hub), Xiangxiang East, and Xiangxiang (hub), as well as one service area (Yintian Service Area). Necessary traffic engineering and roadside facilities will be built simultaneously.

      The Shaoshan Expressway South Extension has launched the advance construction of the Lianshui Grand Bridge. The bridge has a total length of 3,953 meters and is constructed by Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group. The section crossing the Lianshui River adopts a (100+180+100) meter continuous rigid-frame bridge, the railway-crossing section adopts a (2×65) meter swivel continuous box girder, and the remaining spans mainly adopt prestressed concrete simply supported small box girder structures.

      After months of effort, the 2# steel reinforcement processing center and project department facilities have been completed, and the self-built concrete mixing plant and No. 1 steel reinforcement processing center are under accelerated construction. Once completed, the project will further optimize the regional expressway network layout and is of great significance for implementing the development strategies of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Rise of Central China, the Transportation Powerhouse, and Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan integration, as well as promoting economic and social development along the route. At the same time, as a red tourism route, the project will connect the red treasures scattered across Xiangtan into a closed loop: the former residence of Mao Zedong, the Peng Dehuai Memorial Hall, and the former residence of Liu Shaoqi will achieve direct expressway connection for the first time.

      In the next stage, the project will make every effort to advance the foundation pit support and excavation construction for the pile caps of main piers 93# and 94# of the Lianshui Grand Bridge, striving to complete the main pier pile caps above water level before the 2026 flood season.