The Honghe Bridge and a section of the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway will open to traffic as soon as the Guangdong Department of Transportation sanctions it, Lu Hanzhao, of Zhuhai Communication Group announced Dec 1.

A Zhuhai Media Group journalist was permitted to drive the route the same day. He reached Hezhou exit in Jinwan District from the Hongwan Interchange in Nanping Town in 7 minutes 20 seconds by taking the Honghe Bridge at 70 kmph (43 mph), and arrived at North Airport Road via the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway after another 5 minutes and 10 seconds. 

The entire 12-km (7-mile) trip will take 8 to 10 minutes if traveled at the designed 100 kmph (62 mph), according to Lin Quanfu, general manager of Honghe Bridge Co.

The Honghe Bridge [Photo by Zhong Fan / Guanhai App]

The 8.7-km (5-mile) journey from North Airport Road to the Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway took 7 minutes on the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway at 70 kmph, and then 90 kmph (56 mph) at the ramp of the Hezhou South Interchange.

Travel time can be cut to 5 minutes if driven at the maximum speed of 120 kmph (75 mph), said Zhu Runtian, general manager of the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway.

The 13-km (8-mile) stretch from the Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway to the Hongwan Interchange took 9 minutes 50 seconds as the journalist increased speed to 100 kmph at the Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway, lowered it to 80 kmph (50 mph) after arriving at the Hezhou South Interchange, and to 60 kmph (37 mph) after reaching the Honghe Bridge.

Costing 4 billion yuan ($608 million), the dual six-lane 9.65-km (6-mile) Honghe Bridge is the world's longest span consisting of two 500-m (547-yd) double-pylon double-plane cable-stayed bridges. Part of the Pearl River Delta Ring Highway, it connects the Hongwan Interchange in the east, Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway in the west, and Jiangmen-Zhuhai Expressway in the north.

The 34.16-km (21-mile) Hezhou-Gaolan Port Expressway, also known as the West Extension Line of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, is a significant part of the city's Six Horizontal & Ten Vertical road network. At 100 kmph (62 mph), the dual six-lane expressway reduces travel time between Xiangzhou District and the Gaolan Port Economic Zone to 30 minutes. Jiangmen City and western Guangdong are reachable within an hour.