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New road to reduce congestion for motorists

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-23 08:47

A new 5 km roadway will eliminate traffic jams for one million residents living in one of Beijing's booming satellite suburbs, according to road builders.

The Chaoyangbei Road extension, to be completed by next July, will improve travel times for residents in Tongzhou district, 30 km east of downtown Beijing.

The Beijing Liujian Construction Corp said yesterday the new six-lane road will be built about 1 km north of the notoriously jammed Jingtong Expressway, the major gateway to central Beijing for Tongzhou residents.

The first phase of the project, a 1.8-km section starting from Beiguan Bridge, the east end of the original Chaoyangbei road, was completed by last year.

Construction for the rest of the 3.9 km section started Wednesday and the entire project will finish at the East Sixth Ring Road by next summer.

Tongzhou district has attracted a growing number of residents as well as business opportunities in recent years after Beijing announced plans to develop the former countryside area.

There were even speculations in 2006 the municipal government was planning to move most of its institutions to the satellite town. However, the plan is still undecided. But despite prospects, current gateways to central Beijing have been limited for Tongzhou residents.

The 13-year-old Jing-Tong Expressway becomes heavily congested, while the Batong Line subway, built under the expressway, is always too crowded, Tongzhou residents said.

Meng Zaifei, a resident who uses buses and subways to commute to her office in south Beijing, said traveling is always a nightmare.

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The transportation authority said it hoped the new road will "influx fresh blood into the congested urban vessel".

"More roads are not enough,unless the government improves order and efficiency on the capital's roads," said Mao Baohua, a professor of traffic management with the Beijing Jiaotong University.

The city will complete altogether nine new road projects this year as part of its plan to boost the transportation facilities for its nearly 4 million vehicles and 18 million daily commuters.