The Fenyang-Shilou and Fushan-Linfen expressways opened on Dec 25, meaning that all 117 counties, districts and cities in North China's Shanxi province have now entered the high-speed era, achieving the "Expressways Connecting Every County" goal a year ahead of schedule.

In 2023, the Xixian-Jixian and Lishi-Xixian expressways, as well as the Licheng-Qinyuan section of Licheng-Huozhou Expressway, were completed, bridging the long-time expressway gap in Daning, Jiaokou, and Qinyuan counties. With the opening of the Fenyang-Shilou and Fushan-Linfen expressways, Shilou and Fushan counties will also be granted expressway access.

The Fenyang-Shilou Expressway is completed and opens to traffic. [Photo/Yellow River News]

Given that much of the province is mountainous and has complex geology, road construction is challenging and costly. To ensure the timely and high-quality completion of county-wide expressways, the province has taken multiple measures related to funding, standardized and industrialized construction, and smart green road development.

Shanxi Transportation Holdings Group has shouldered the responsibility of leading the development of transportation infrastructure, planning and executing with high standards to accelerate the county-wide construction of expressways.

The Fenyang-Shilou Expressway is completed and opens to traffic. [Photo/Yellow River News]

The "Expressways Connecting Every County" initiative is a crucial step in using Shanxi's transportation advantages to support the province's transformation and development. This initiative is crucial to enhancing the province's expressway network, improving regional transportation conditions, accelerating new urbanization and rural vitalization, and boosting local economic and social development.