Upgraded street ramps up progress in rural Shandong

Since May, a manufacturing company in a rural area of eastern China has greatly improved the transportation of its products thanks to the opening of an upgraded road.

"Transportation efficiency has increased three to five fold," said Ding Yuhao, a purchasing manager of the company in Xindian, Yucheng county, Shandong province. Jinan Ruinasi Door, Window and Curtain Wall Company mainly produces large windows and glass walls and requires large trucks to transport its products.

"We had to use smaller trucks to carry products from the factory to the main road, and then shift them to bigger trucks to carry on," Ding said, adding the company faced similar problems when it transported raw materials to its factory.

Since the road linking the factory to the nearby freeway network was upgraded and reopened in May, no more truck changes have been required. The upgraded road linking Yucheng county and Xindian is 16.1 kilometers long, and 21 meters wide with four lanes. The speed limit is 60 km per hour.

Before the upgrade, the road, built in 2010, was 8 meters wide with two lanes. The total investment in the upgrade project was 280 million yuan ($38.49 million), according to the Yucheng transport commission.

The road is part of the rural highway network in Yucheng, which has greatly improved transportation and travel for local residents and companies, said Pang Chenchen, an official from the transportation infrastructure assurance center in Yucheng.

The county's rural highway network now stretches 1,951 km. Since 2017, Yucheng has received multiple regional and national awards for its accomplishments in building rural roads. Last year, the county was selected as one of the national model counties for building rural roads, according to the local transportation commission.

Hou Runfang, head of the human and administration affairs department of Dezhou Victoria Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Company in Xindian, said transportation was restricted before the improvements.

"Back then, when two trucks passed each other, drivers had to be extremely careful," Hou said.

Every day, the farm produces and ships about 100 metric tons of fresh milk. Other agricultural products, such as cattle and feed, are brought to the farm, making transportation the lifeblood of the company.

"Each trip (from the farm to the county) saves up to half an hour. In the past, with poor road conditions, it was easy to get stuck in traffic," she said.

"There was no partition in the middle of the road, so some people easily crossed the road illegally, which raised safety concerns and further slowed the transportation speed," she said.

Fresh milk must be delivered quickly to ensure quality, and saving 30 minutes on transportation is very important, she said. "Our employees also find it more convenient to travel between work and home since the road was upgraded," Hou said.

An upgraded freeway opened in 2021 has also benefited residents.

Pang, from the infrastructure assurance center, said there are now eight entry points to the freeway.

"From any town in the county, it takes only 10 minutes to drive to the freeway. Before 2021, we only had two entry points. It was common to see vehicles lining up to enter or leave Yucheng," Pang said.

Liu Xingwang, a truck driver who usually travels between the provincial capital Jinan and Yucheng, said traffic flow has improved greatly. One of the entries to the freeway network that opened in 2021 has greatly saved travel time, he added.

Liu Zhuxiang, head of Qiyao village in Yucheng, said the improved transportation network has benefited residents.

"Transportation was less convenient. Farmers usually carried pears to the market to sell," he said, adding that with improved and wider roads, customers can drive trucks to farm gates to buy fresh fruit.

The incomes of local people have also increased, he said.

In the past decade, China has promoted the building and renovation of rural roads. According to the Ministry of Transport, China has more than 4.5 million km of rural roads. In 2011, the length was 3.56 million km. In the past decade, the roads in 105,000 villages and more than 1,000 towns have been surfaced.

Last year, China built and upgraded more than 180,000 km of rural roads.