Heba Expressway Completed and Opened to Traffic in Guangxi
China News Service, Hechi, June 30th (Reporter Lin Hao) – On June 30th, the Hezhou-Bama Expressway in Guangxi was officially completed and opened to traffic following the successful development of the Peisen Liujiang Super Bridge and Longwan Tunnel No. 2, two large and challenging projects.
The Hezhou-Bama Expressway is a significant component of Guangxi’s expressway network planning under the “horizontal 3” line. It stretches from Hezhou City, where Guangdong and Guangxi meet, and passes through 14 cities including Hezhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Laibin, Liuzhou, Nanning, and Hechi, serving as a crucial east-west traffic artery in Guangxi.
Reduced Travel Time
The Heba Expressway, with a total length of 480 kilometers and an investment of approximately 67 billion yuan, was constructed by Guangxi New Development Transportation Group, a subsidiary of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Investment Group. Chen Kaiqun, chairman of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group, explained that since the construction began in late 2016, the opening of various segments has put an end to the era of inaccessible expressways in Zhaoping County, Mengshan County, Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, and Dahua Yao Autonomous County.
The completion of the Heba Expressway has significantly reduced travel time in the region. Chen Kaiqun noted, “The opening of the Heba Expressway has connected the four Yao Autonomous Counties of Jinxiu, Du’an, Dahua, and Bama, and has decreased the travel time from Du’an to Bama from 3 hours to 1.5 hours. Additionally, the journey from Zhaoping County to Mengshan County has been shortened from 1 hour to approximately 20 minutes. These reductions in time and space distances between Guangxi and Guangdong, as well as other southeast coastal areas, will boost tourism development, facilitate industrial interaction and economic integration, and provide tourists with more convenient, comfortable, and safe travel routes, contributing to the revitalization of rural areas.”
Overcoming Challenges
Spanning mountains and rivers, the Heba Expressway faced complex landscapes and geological conditions, leading to a significant number of bridges and tunnels throughout the project. The construction team successfully tackled numerous technical difficulties, including complex geology and numerous karst caves in karst areas. Additionally, they overcame challenges such as deep excavation, difficult ventilation, and high temperatures in the tunnels. Notably, they constructed the world’s largest span concrete cable-stayed bridge and Guangxi’s first continuous rigid frame bridge with corrugated steel webs.
Environmental Considerations
During the construction of the Mengshan-Xiangzhou section of the Heba Expressway, which passes through the Guangxi Dayaoshan National Nature Reserve and the Panwang River Secondary Water Source Protection Zone, environmental sustainability was a top priority. The project implemented low-carbon practices and processed tunnel slag into gravel for use in physical construction projects, reducing the impact on natural ecology.
Ou Shuhe, the county magistrate of Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in Laibin City, expressed plans to leverage the opening of the Heba Expressway to pioneer the “traffic + tourism” model. The county aims to establish a “fast forward and slow travel” tourist traffic pattern and foster key villages and townships for rural tourism development.
The photo shows the location of the opening ceremony. Photo courtesy of Guangxi New Development Transport Group
China News Service, Hechi, June 30th (Reporter Lin Hao) On June 30th, with the successful development of the two large and difficult projects of Peisen Liujiang Super Bridge and Longwan Tunnel No. 2, the Hezhou-Bama Expressway in Guangxi was completed and opened to traffic.
The Hezhou-Bama Expressway is an important part of the “horizontal 3” line of Guangxi expressway network planning. It starts in Hezhou City at the junction of Guangdong and Guangxi, and passes through 14 cities in Hezhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Laibin, Liuzhou, Nanning, and Hechi Counties and districts are the arteries of east-west traffic in Guangxi.
The photo shows the Liujiang Peisen Bridge. Photo courtesy of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group
The project is invested and built by Guangxi New Development Transportation Group, a company directly under Guangxi Beibu Gulf Investment Group. Chen Kaiqun, chairman of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group, introduced that Heba Expressway has a total mileage of 480 kilometers and a total investment of about 67 billion yuan. Since the start of construction at the end of 2016, the realization of segmental opening to traffic has ended the history of inaccessible expressways in the urban area of Zhaoping County, Mengshan County, Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, and Dahua Yao Autonomous County.
“The opening of the Heba Expressway connects the four Yao Autonomous Counties of Jinxiu, Du’an, Dahua, and Bama, and further improves the expressway network in Guangxi. The original driving time from Du’an to Bama has been shortened from 3 hours. to 1.5 hours.” , the trip from Zhaoping County to Mengshan County has been shortened from 1 hour to about 20 minutes, shortening the time and space distance between Guangxi and Guangdong and other southeast coastal areas, which will promote the development of tourism resources regional , drive industrial interaction and economic compatibility in the region, and provide Tourists will provide more convenient, comfortable and safe travel routes to help revitalize the countryside,” said Chen Kaiqun.
Photo shows Heba Expressway – Chengjiang Interchange Hub. Photo courtesy of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group
The Heba Expressway is said to pass through mountains and wading waters, the landscape and geological conditions are complex, and the high ratio of bridges and tunnels is particularly noticeable. The project builder has broken through layers of technical difficulties and have overcome various geological problems such as complex geology and many karst caves in karst areas, and the challenges of deep excavation, difficult ventilation, and high temperature in the tunnel opened the “blocking point” for traffic, and built a concrete bridge the world’s largest span concrete cable stay, and Guangxi’s first largest continuous rigid frame bridge with corrugated steel webs Wait for the project.
The photo shows the North Xiangzhou Interchange Hub Project. Photo courtesy of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group
Among them, the Mengshan-Xiangzhou section of the Heba Expressway passes through the Guangxi Dayaoshan National Nature Reserve, the Panwang River Secondary Water Source Protection Zone and other places. During the construction process, the project adopts low carbon and Tunnel slag is processed into gravel used in physical projects to reduce tunnel dredges, reduce the use of tunnel dredges on land, and reduce the impact on natural ecology.
Ou Shuhe, the county magistrate of Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County in Laibin City, said that after opening the Heba Expressway, Jinxiu will pioneer the “traffic + tourism” model, create a “fast forward and slow travel” tourist traffic pattern, and nurture key villages (township) for rural tourism. (over)
The photo shows the Daluo Viaduct. Photo courtesy of Guangxi New Development Transportation Group
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