The bidding results for the construction of two key expressway projects in Hubei Province have been officially announced, and all key sections with an estimated total investment of 18.3 billion yuan have been selected as the winning bidders. Central enterprises such as China Railway, China Communications Construction Corporation, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation have entered the bidding process, marking that these two major projects, which aim to improve the regional road network and empower economic development, are about to enter the substantive construction stage, injecting strong impetus into the Hubei transportation hub empowerment strategy.

The two major projects each have their own focus, accurately addressing the pain points of regional transportation development. Among them, the G4222 County Xiangyang Expressway Suizhou section is a new construction project with a total investment of about 10 billion yuan and a total length of 76.6 kilometers. It adopts a high standard construction of two-way four lane and designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour, with a bridge tunnel ratio of 41.3%. 63 new bridges and 5 tunnels will be built, which will be an important part of the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. It will become a key link connecting the Yangtze River Delta, Hefei metropolitan area, Wuhan metropolitan area, and Han River ecological economic belt. The first phase of the renovation and expansion project of the Gucheng to Liupi section of the Fuyin Expressway, with an investment of about 8.3 billion yuan, focuses on the congestion problem of the existing road section. A 37.9-kilometer two-way six lane double track section will be built, accompanied by a 1.6-kilometer transition section. 48 bridges and 2 tunnels will be built, which will greatly enhance the capacity of the Fuyin Expressway and effectively alleviate the normalized congestion situation in the Shiyan section.

This bidding adopts the model of selecting construction cooperation units through a consortium of investors, and the list of the first winning bidder candidates for each section is announced with great weight. The HXSZTJ-3 section of G4222 and Xiang Expressway Suizhou section was won by China Railway Guangzhou Engineering Bureau, the HXSZTJ-4 section belongs to China Railway 19th Bureau, and the HXSZTJ-5 section is acquired by China Construction Eighth Bureau; The FYGLTJ-1 section of the Fuyin Expressway renovation and expansion project (Phase I) is led by China Communications Second Navigation Bureau. These central enterprises have rich experience and strong technology in the field of large-scale transportation infrastructure. Their entry provides a solid guarantee for the quality and efficiency of project construction, and also demonstrates the strict requirements of national key projects for the strength of construction entities.

The project construction will deeply integrate green and intelligent concepts to create high-quality transportation engineering. Drawing on the advanced experience of similar projects, it is expected to promote green technologies such as HAS soil stabilizer for soft foundation treatment and tunnel waste resource utilization during the construction process, reducing ecological impact and engineering costs; At the same time, intelligent construction site management platforms, three arm rock drilling rigs and other intelligent equipment may be introduced to achieve digital traceability and safe and efficient promotion of the entire construction process. For the Suizhou section of the Hexiang Expressway, its completion will further improve the transportation network of the "Xiangshi Suishen" urban agglomeration, promote the export of characteristic agricultural products and the development of red and ecological tourism resources along the route; The renovation and expansion project of Fuyin Expressway will optimize the road network layout in the Qinba Mountain area of northwest Hubei, and help promote regional economic and social development as well as deep exploration of tourism resources.

The implementation and construction of the two projects have important strategic significance, not only as a key measure for Hubei to improve the "nine vertical, five horizontal, and four ring" expressway network, but also as a concrete practice to serve national strategies such as the rise of the central region and the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. With the gradual progress of the project, it will effectively shorten the spatial and temporal distance between regions, promote cross regional cooperation of industries, drive employment and livelihood improvement along the line, and lay a solid transportation foundation for Hubei to build a new transportation and logistics hub in the central region and achieve high-quality development. In the future, when the project is fully completed and opened to traffic, it will become a "golden artery" that connects the inside and outside, empowers revitalization, and writes a new chapter in regional coordinated development.Editor/Bian Wenjun