Highways will be toll-free during the Spring Festival holiday between Feb 18 and 24, according to an arrangement announced by the national government.

Suzhou's traffic police said that the holiday travel rush will peak on Feb 17, during the day on Feb 18, and again on Feb 23 and 24.

They estimated that an average of 850,000 cars will travel on Suzhou sections of highways during the festival period. Traffic jams may occur on Sutong Bridge, Shenhai Highway, Changtai Highway, Jinghu Highway, Huchang Highway and Sushao Highway, according to the traffic police.

Suzhou has strengthened its safety checks on roads since the travel rush began on Feb 4 and will continue to enforce strict monitoring until Mar 15.