The Xingye Road four-lane tunnel beneath East Renmin Road in Xiangzhou District will open by June 30 bypassing traffic lights and congestion, according to the Zhuhai Highway Affairs Center and Huafa Group.

The support structure for the foundation pit is in place, soil is 40 percent excavated, and the main structure is 15 percent underway near Yinhua New Village residential community.

Rendering of tunnel beneath East Renmin Road [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Huafa Group]

East Renmin Road is an east-west eight-lane thoroughfare. In addition to the tunnel, four auxiliary lanes will be ready by year end to facilitate turning onto Xingye Road. They form part of the Xingye Express Road project.

The south section of the express road is currently being bored beneath the tunnel. The 4.77-km (3-mile) six-lane section will allow for a maximum speed of 60 kmph (37 mph). It goes from the Jiuzhou Avenue-First Jianye Road intersection in Jida, cuts through Banzhang Mt via Shijing Mt Tunnel, and runs northward via tunnels to converge with the north section at East Meihua Road.

Xingye Express Road extends 30 km (19 miles) north-south from Tangle and Hagongda roads in Tangjiawan to the Fenghuang Mt Tunnel via a Y-shaped structure. It passes Dajingshan Community Park; dips beneath Meihua, Xingye, Yinhua, Renmin, and Ningxi roads; and then accesses Shijing Mt Tunnel to terminate at the Jiuzhou Avenue-First Jianye Road intersection. Construction of the north section and Yingbin feeder are also underway.

When the entire express road opens in 2022, it will facilitate north-south downtown traffic and improve access to both the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Travel time from Tangjiawan to Jida will be 10 minutes.