On the morning of November 18, 2025, the construction of the G5912 Fangxian to Wufeng Expressway Fangxian section officially began in Sanhai Village, Chengguan Town, Fangxian County, Shiyan City. Zhou Zhiyong, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, announced the start of the project. As a major transportation artery connecting the mountains and waters of western Hubei, the project has a total investment of 6.385 billion yuan and a construction period of 4.5 years. It is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in the first half of 2030, which will completely end the history of Shiyan to Shennongjia needing to detour the Panshan Highway and achieve a 1.5-hour direct time and space crossing.

The Fangxian section of Fangwu Expressway is a key project in the National Highway Network Plan and the comprehensive transportation development plan of Hubei Province during the 14th Five Year Plan period. It starts from Lianhua Village in Chengguan Town, Fangxian County, connects to the Tenth Fang section of G59 Hubei Expressway, passes through Jundian Town, Hongta Town, and Savage Valley Town to the south, and finally enters Shennongjia territory in the form of Leijiashan Tunnel in Duchuan Village, seamlessly connecting with the proposed Shennongjia section of Fangwu Expressway, with a total length of about 31.6 kilometers. The main line of the project is constructed according to the standard of a two-way four lane expressway, with a designed speed of 80 kilometers per hour and a roadbed width of 25.5 meters. Facing the complex terrain and landforms of the Qinba Mountains, the bridge tunnel ratio is as high as 79.8%, making it a "hardcore project" for high-speed construction in mountainous areas. Multiple large bridges and tunnels will be constructed along the route, among which the Leijiashan Tunnel, as a key control project, will directly penetrate the natural geographical barrier between Fangxian and Shennongjia, greatly improving traffic efficiency.

In the construction of the project, the project team will adhere to the concept of "ecological priority and green construction", and make every effort to protect the ecological barrier in western Hubei. In response to the characteristics of crossing ecologically sensitive areas along the route, the method of "tunnel crossing+bridge crossing" is adopted to reduce the damage to surface vegetation, and technologies such as immediate greening of construction sites and slope ecological protection are promoted. At the same time, wild animal migration channels are constructed to achieve harmonious coexistence between transportation construction and ecological protection. At the same time, relying on intelligent control systems, standardized management of the entire construction process is carried out, solving construction problems such as complex geology and variable climate in mountainous areas, and creating a "safe century quality project".

As a "golden channel" for the development of the western Hubei region, the significance of the project's construction goes far beyond transportation itself. After the opening of the road, not only will the travel time from Shiyan to Shennongjia be reduced from the current 3.5 hours to 1.5 hours, but the distance from Shiyan to Yichang will also be saved by about 100 kilometers. It will also connect internationally renowned scenic spots such as Wudang Mountain, Shennongjia, and Three Gorges into a line, building the core artery of the "Three Rivers and Three Mountains of Hubei and Hunan" world-class cultural and tourism corridor. This expressway will become a link for the deep integration of the Hanjiang Ecological Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, promoting the revitalization of rural areas and the development of characteristic industries along the route, injecting strong impetus into the construction of Shiyan as a regional center city in western Hubei, and enabling the ecological beauty and cultural tourism charm of western Hubei to reach a broader market through convenient transportation.

Next, the project construction party will deepen the collaboration between enterprises and local areas, refine the construction plan, strictly control quality and safety, and make every effort to promote early completion, early production, and early results of the project. This transportation artery spanning the Qinba Mountains will eventually become a livelihood road, wealth road, and happiness road that benefits the people along the route, allowing the convenience of the "1.5-hour tourism circle" to benefit more people and writing a new chapter in the coordinated development of the western Hubei region.Editor/Bian Wenjun