Construction on the tunnel under the Taihu Lake has got underway as part of the projects for the express highway linking up Changzhou and Wuxi.
The Changzhou-Wuxi express highway starts from Qianhuang town in the west and ends at Nanquan in the east where it joins the round-Taihu express highway.
The express highway is 43.9-km long with a 10.79-km-long underwater tunnel built under the Meilian Lake in south Wuxi.The underwater section of the express highway is the longest and widest of its kind in China.
Upon its operation in four years’ time, the express highway will become the second major freeway linking up Nanjing, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai to ease the pressure on the Shanghai-Nanjing Freeway.
The Shanghai-Nanjing Freeway, constructed in 1996 and upgraded into four lanes in each direction, is designed for a daily capacity of 80000 to 100000 cars. The daily flow of passing vehicles in the Wuxi segment, however, has reached 150000 on the average and peaks 200000.
Upon its operation in four years’ time, the express highway will become the second major freeway linking up Nanjing, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai to ease the pressure on the Shanghai-Nanjing Freeway.
