In the morning, the wind deep in the Tianshan Mountains is still chilly. At the construction site of Section 3 of the Kuiduku Expressway Civil Engineering Project of CCCC First Highway Group, the roar of machinery broke the silence of the valley. With the first shovel of soil being excavated, this super project carrying the development expectations of Xinjiang has officially taken the first step of temporary construction.

As a strategic project for the interconnection of the core area of the the Belt and Road, the total mileage of the new Kuidoku Expressway is about 394 kilometers, which is almost parallel to the existing G217 Duku Highway, known as the "most beautiful highway". Like a giant dragon, it runs through the north and south of Tianshan Mountains and connects 7 counties and cities in 5 prefectures, including Karamay, Tacheng, Ili, Bazhou and Aksu. This is not just a road, but also a key to breaking the development imbalance between the north and south of Xinjiang.

Advance into the forbidden zone of life

The 3rd part of the 2nd bid project, constructed by China Communications First Highway Engineering Group, has a total length of approximately 20.37 kilometers. Seemingly a short stretch of road, it is located in a high-altitude snow covered area with strict ecological control. Constructing here is a game against the limits of nature.

Builders must face the severe challenges of extreme cold, low-pressure hypoxia, perennial strong winds, and deep frozen soil layers. In order to advance the project, the project team adheres to scientific construction, and on the premise of strictly complying with various policies and regulations, resolves previous difficulties item by item. With solid preliminary work, they became the first construction section in Section 2 to fully complete the preliminary procedures for temporary land use, laying a solid foundation for the main project.

Break through the underground dragon

On this 20 kilometer front line, the real highlights are two extremely long tunnels - the Yuximolege Tunnel and the Kezhayi Tunnel. The former has a total length of 15.5 kilometers and a maximum burial depth of 1355 meters; The latter has a total length of 15 kilometers and a maximum burial depth of 1652 meters. They are like underground arteries connecting the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and are also the most critical control projects along the entire line.

It is rare in China to excavate such a long tunnel beneath snow capped mountains with an average altitude of several kilometers. The rock burst caused by high ground stress, long-distance reverse slope drainage, and the fragile ecological environment of high cold are all ultimate challenges to the wisdom and courage of builders.

Reshaping the spatiotemporal pattern

The significance of the Kuiduku Expressway goes far beyond just transportation. At present, it takes 14 hours to travel from Kuitun to Kuche, and it is greatly affected by weather conditions, often forcing closures in winter. After the new line is opened, this section of the journey will be compressed to 4 hours and will be open 24/7.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

This road will further improve the trunk highway network in Xinjiang, making the flow of resources between the north and south of Xinjiang more efficient. It is not only a transportation line, but also an economic and solidarity line, which will effectively deepen the economic linkage and ethnic exchanges between the north and south of Xinjiang, and help the Xinjiang region of China achieve coordinated and high-quality development.Editor/Yang Meiling