Renovation work starts on expressway

Writer: Wei Jie  |  Editor: Stephanie Yang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily 

A renovation project has recently started on Meiguan Expressway to transform it into a two-way, 14-lane, urban highway to be completed in the first half of 2024, Chinese-language media reported yesterday.

Meiguan Expressway extends about 8 kilometers from the former Meilin Toll Gate in Futian District in the south, to Qinghu Flyover in northern Longhua District. Seven new flyovers and nine pedestrian overpasses will be built along the expressway to ease traffic flow and separate slow traffic from fast traffic, according to Wei Min, a senior engineer with the city’s transport and public facility construction center.

Meiguan Expressway, which opened to traffic in 1995, is part of the G94 Expressway within the national network.

It is a north-south gateway to Longhua District and Bantian Subdistrict in Longgang District in the northern part of Shenzhen, where it connects to Shenzhen-Dongguan Expressway.

Traffic has become increasingly congested on the expressway since 2014 when tolls were abolished by the city government after purchasing the expressway from its operator to further push the city’s integration.

“I really hope that the road would become less congested after the renovation is completed,” said a Longhua resident surnamed Zhang, who works in Futian District.

He said he has often been stuck on the expressway for at least 30 minutes when commuting between work and home during the morning and evening rush hours.

The separation of fast traffic and slow traffic, and of transit vehicles and urban commuters will be an effective solution to ease the traffic congestion on Meiguan Expressway, said Wei.

The renovation has started on the comprehensive corridor project and the auxiliary roads on both sides of the expressway, said Xie Chaoqun, deputy project manager with China MCC 20 Group Corp. Ltd., the contractor of the Meiguan renovation project.

He said a comprehensive pipeline network for water supply, drainage, power, gas and telecommunications will be installed on both sides of the expressway in order to avoid repeated excavations on the road for future pipeline inspections and other emergency repairs.

According to Xie, the standards of a sponge city will also be implemented in the renovation project to make it an environmentally friendly smart traffic model.