On January 16, 2021, the construction of the Hengmen West Bridge, the largest single-tower cable-stayed bridge in China, marks the official start of the construction of the Zhongshan section of the Nansha-Zhongshan Expressway. The Nansha-Zhongshan Expressway has been fully started and will be completed in the future. The journey from Zhongshan to Nansha will be shortened by half an hour.

Nanzhong Expressway details

Located in the core area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Nanzhong Expressway has a total length of 32.4 kilometers and an investment of over 20 billion yuan. It is an important channel across the Pearl River system. The project is planned to be opened to traffic simultaneously with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor in 2024, which will transform Nansha Port from its original traffic terminal into a traffic hub, further enhancing the role of Guangzhou's core engine and the connection of Zhongshan nodes.

The Nanzhong Expressway adopts a two-way six-lane design standard with a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour. It consists of the main line and the Wanqingsha branch line. The main line starts at Nansha Port Express Xinken Interchange and ends at Xinlong Interchange. It connects with Zhongshan East Ring Expressway and connects with Guangzhou. There are 3 extra-large bridges and 41 bridges at the crossover of the Macao Expressway, with 9 interchanges on the whole line. Among them, the Hengmen West Bridge is currently the largest single-tower cable-stayed bridge in China, and the Wanqingsha service area is the first portal service area in South China.

The Zhongshan section of the Nanzhong Expressway contains two independent extra-large bridges. The Hengmenxi Extra-large Bridge is one of them, and is currently the largest single-tower cable-stayed bridge in China. The bridge is 912 meters long and spans the Jiya Waterway and Xiaolan Waterway respectively. It is the controlling project of the entire project.

As a major project to open up the national and Guangdong highway backbone network, the Nanzhong Expressway spans Guangzhou and Zhongshan, Nantong Zhuhai, westward Jiangmen, and eastward Shenzhen, further enhancing Guangzhou's core engine role and Zhongshan node connection role. After the completion of the Wanqingsha service area, it will become the first portal service area in South China that integrates transportation, tourism, leisure and business functions. Editor/Peng Xue