Zhuhai has been devoting great efforts to establishing a fast transportation system that provides motorists access to expressways in 15 minutes and to Shenzhen and Hong Kong in 60 minutes, accelerating the construction of major transportation projects like the Xianghai Bridge, which is expected to be completed in mid-October.

Currently, construction of the asphalt pavement on the final 3-km (2-mile) section of the Xianghai Bridge is moving forward, as is the installation of mechanical and electrical traffic equipment, with the project expected to open to the public in time for the upcoming 14th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China), which will be held in November.

Serving as a transportation artery between Zhuhai's east and west wings, the 29.8-km (18.5-mile) Xianghai Bridge has a 20-km (12-mile) main line and 9.8-km (6.1-mile) feeder line.

Xianghai Bridge [Photo by Chen Jiazhe / Zhuhai Media Group]

The main line starts from the Zaobei Interchange and goes east through Zhongshan's Tanzhou Town and Zhuhai's Doumen district before ending at Huxin Road, connecting with the Guangzhou-Foshan-Jiangmen-Zhuhai and Guangzhou-Zhuhai West expressways, as well as the Zhongshan West Outer Ring.

Its feeder line starts from the Tanzhou Hub of the Guangdong Western Coastal Expressway and runs south with viaducts of the National Expressway G105 (Gudu Avenue) to Meihua Interchange, before going all the way towards Zhongshan via the Renmin Road and Zaobei interchanges. Upon operation, Xiangzhou motorists can reach Doumen in only 15 minutes.

In addition, the cutter head of the super-large-diameter slurry balanced shield machine "Kaituo" was installed on Oct 11 and is gearing up to drill the Zhuhai Tunnel under the Xijiang River from Modaomen Waterway near Zhuhai Bridge. "Kaituo" was customized with world-leading technologies and customized for Zhuhai's sludge formation.

The borer will drill 2.93 km (1.82 miles) of the 5-km (3-mile) Zhuhai Tunnel, of which 2.7 km (1.7 miles)  is under water. Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024, the dual six-lane tunnel will have a designated speed limit of 80 kmph (50 mph).

The railway ballast laying of the Jinhai Avenue Bridge over the Modaomen Waterway is now moving forward and is expected to completed by the end of this month, preparing for further rail laying.

The 9,700-cubic-meter railway ballast of the bridge weighs around 15,000 metric tons, with the whole railway having a length of 2,614 m (2,589 yds) and width of 9.12 m (9.97 yds).

Connecting Hengqin and Jinwan, the bridge is expected to start operation in the second half of 2023, allowing Jinwan motorists to reach Hengqin in around 10 to 15 minutes and cutting the travel time from Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport to Gongbei to a 25-minute drive.