Four expressways in Beijing are expected to be completed by the end of the year and open to traffic next year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.
The Daxing-Yanqing Expressway and the section of the Yanqing-Chongli Expressway built on the plain area are located in northern Beijing. The New Airport Expressway and the mid-section of the New Airport North Line Expressway, located in southern Beijing, are expected to serve the traffic at the city's new airport.
Earlier this week, the Tongzhou-Daxing section of the Capital Region Ring Expressway and the Beijing section of the Beijing-Qinhuangdao Expressway officially opened to the public.
Differently from other expressways, the Capital Region Ring Expressway and the Beijing-Qinhuangdao Expressway do not have toll stations set at the boundary of Beijing, which could expedite traffic flow and reduce traffic pressure. However, both expressways have checkpoints set before vehicles enter Beijing.
The Beijing section of the Beijing-Qinhuangdao Expressway, 6.3 kilometers in length, connects to the expressway's Sanhe section and can divert nearly half of the traffic flow on the Beijing-Harbin Expressway.
On Sept. 30, the Sanhe section will be connected to the Tianjin section. The Yutian-Zunhua section in Tangshan, Hebei province, once completed at the end of the year, will be connected to the Tianjin section of the Beijing-Qinhuangdao Expressway and the Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway.
During China's 13th Five-Year Plan period, Beijing has set out to accomplish the task of adding 200 kilometers of expressways. The preparation work for the Beijing-Xiongan Expressway is underway and the construction is expected to begin at the end of this year or early next year. The preparation work for the Beijing-Miyun Expressway (the Fourth Ring to Airport South Line) has been completed, and its construction is expected to start in the middle of next year. The Chengde-Pinggu Expressway is awaiting approval by authorities, and construction is expected to start next year. After completion, vans and lorries can use the expressway as a detour.
In addition, the Beijing Public Transport Card is expected to be usable not only in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, but also in many cities across China in the future.
The new expressways are a part of a new infrastructural development trend for cross-provincial public transportation. So far, 42 bus lines from Beijing could take travelers to adjacent areas like Huailai and Zhuozhou in Hebei Province.?
