A "Six Horizontal & Ten Vertical" road network will take shape in Zhuhai by 2035 to ease traffic jams, facilitate the structural expansion of central urban areas, and aid in the development of key peripheral areas.

The Zhuhai Artery Road Network Plan was approved at an executive meeting of the municipal government on Nov 15.

The road network will encompass 276 km (171 miles) of expressways, 184 km (114 miles) of urban express roads, and 292 km (184 miles) of arterial roads. 

Proposed is a Shenzhen-Zhuhai Passage, which will start from Shenzhen's Qianhai and connect to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway along the Pearl River and Nanping Express Road. It will then cross over the Lingding Sea to Zhuhai's Tangjiawan, going westward to Zhongshan's Wugui Mt, Doumen District's Lianzhou Town, Gaolan Port Economic Zone, and then Taishan of Jiangmen City and western Guangdong.

The passage and its western extension line will join the current Guangdong West Coast Expressway and Zhuhai Avenue as three of six east-west roads. The Xianghai and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (HMZ) bridges and their extension lines, as well as the Jinhai Avenue Bridge-Jin'gang Bridge are still under construction.

Six Horizontal & Ten Vertical routes [Photo by Yang Simiao / Zhuhai Daily]

The 12.5-billion-yuan ($1.8 billion) Huangmao Sea Channel, as part of the HZM Bridge and its western extension line, is essential to expanding the bridge's influence into western Guangdong.

It will start from the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway in the east to connect with the Gaolan Port Expressway, stretching 31 km (19 miles) to meet the Xinhui-Taishan Expressway in the west to be link up with the Guangdong West Coast Expressway.

Of the 10 north-south roads, the Gaolan Port, Airport, Jiangmen-Zhuhai, Guangzhou-Zhuhai West Line expressways and, East Airport Road will be supplemented by Jinqin Express Road-Nanwan Avenue and Xingye Express Road, now under construction. Gaolan Port Express Road, North Airport Road, and Third Hengqin Passage are still in the pipeline.

Additionally, Jinqin Express Road-Xianghai Sub-line-Nanwan Avenue-Changsheng Road-Xingye Express Road-East Jintang Road will consist of a 47.6-km (30-mile) central urban area express ring road, 34 km (21 miles) of which are still being built. 

Central urban area express ring [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]