Three tunnels will be built across the Yangtze River and 12 expressways will be constructed across Jiangsu province in addition to the expansion of 800 kilometers of expressways in the next three years, according to the environmental impact assessment on the province’s expressway network plan for 2017-2030 period.
The construction of the 12 new expressways and the three tunnels across the Yangtze River will add up to 1150 kilometers in total, according to the environmental impact assessment that was made public recently.
The three tunnels include the Longtan Tunnel in eastern Nanjing, the Changzhou-Taizhou Tunnel and the Jinjiang-Zhangjiagang Tunnel.
The Longtan Tunnel is expected to become an important infrastructure project for the urban integration between Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou for the enhancement of the economic ties in eastern Nanjing, Jurong, Yizheng and other areas to the north of the Yangtze. The tunnel will join the Longtan comprehensive bonded area in the southern bank and Yizheng city in the northern bank of the Yangtze.
The Changzhou-Taizhou Tunnel will have the effect of complementary advantages by drawing the southern regions and the central regions of Jiangsu closer in special distances to better serve the development needs in Changzhou and Taizhou for the promotion of economic integration. The tunnel will also enhance the regional comprehensive transportation system and the urban positioning of Changzhou and Taizhou for the expansion of economic influence of the two cities.
The Jinjiang-Zhangjiagang Tunnel will seek to enhance the interconnectivity of the regional road network with Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge to alleviate the traffic congestion leading up to the bridge. It will also play the role of an urban passageway for the cross-Yangtze traffic so as to prop up the optimization and upgrading of the inland ports along the Yangtze for the guarantee and promotion of the leapfrog development in the regional economy.
The 12 expressways will include the freeway networks between Yancheng and Nanjing, Danyang and Jintan, Huai’an and Binhai, Dongtai and Xuyi, Sheyang and Yancheng. Through point-to-point interconnectivity, these expressways will substantially strengthen the urban ties for these regions.
In the meantime, Jiangsu will plan the expansion of 800 kilometers on the current expressway networks such as the segment of the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway between the Changshu Interchange and southern Dongbang and the segment of the Beijing-Shanghai expressway between Jiangyin and Wuxi. The expansion of the expressways is expected to give a strong impetus to the province’s infrastructure construction in the years ahead.
（Editor： Qi Daozheng；Zhou Anqi）
