After allowing a year of free passage, the Honghe Bridge between Xiangzhou's Nanwan Urban Area and Jinwan's Aviation New Town becomes a toll road starting in 2022. Vehicles with Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) devices, however, will cross toll-free.

Honghe Bridge [Photo by Ye Qiuming / WeChat account: zhuhaifabu]

The Zhuhai government has covered expenditures for expressway services since the 4-billion-yuan ($565-million) Honghe Bridge opened last Dec 15. Starting in 2022, the toll will meet provincial standards that were adopted in May this year. Drivers pay 0.45 yuan (7 cents) a kilometer when they take vehicles out on highways with four lanes and 0.6 yuan (9 cents) a kilometer on highways with six lanes. The 9.65-km (6-mile) Honghe Bridge is a six-lane expressway with no traffic lights and a maximum speed of 100 kmph (62 mph). 

Daily vehicle passages on the Honghe Bridge stands at 37,000 and traffic volume in the January-October period of 2021 reached around 11.21 million. 

Spanning the Hongwan and Modaomen waterways, the Honghe Bridge has relieved traffic pressure on the heavily used Zhuhai Bridge, on which no toll is charged, where traffic speed has increased by nearly 30 percent. It also shortens travel time between east and west Zhuhai. Motorists can reach Jinwan’s Aviation New Town from Nanwan within 30 minutes.