On April 29, the Nanjing section of Fujian Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway built by China Railway 12th Bureau was officially opened to traffic. So far, the 245 km Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway has been fully opened to traffic. In the future, there is no need to bypass Longyan from Longyan Yongding to Xiamen, which can shorten about half an hour drive. The journey from Xiamen to Zhangzhou Nanjing and Longyan Yongding’s Tulou scenic spots has become a whole high-speed passage.

Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway starts from the intersection of Nangang Avenue, Dajing community, Gangwei Town, economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhangzhou Investment Promotion Bureau, Fujian Province in the east and ends at Huli Gorge, Dongliu Town, Wuping County, Longyan City in the west. The Nanjing section of the line opened to traffic this time has a total length of 50.7 km. It is constructed according to the standard of two-way four lane expressway, with a design speed of 100 km/h. In the whole line, there are four toll stations i.e. Nanjing East, Nanjing, Nankeng and Nanjing Tulou (Shuyang) and one service area Nanjing Tulou.

Ganfang Super Bridge of Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway

The section constructed by China Railway 12th Bureau has a span of 8.8km, including 3.46km tunnel and 3.79km bridges. Long tunnels and big bridges are dense in this section, and they are connected in many cases. The bridge tunnel ratio reaches 82.5%. Besides, the Ganfang super bridge and Tianling tunnel in the section are the main projects of the Expressway. The construction is tough, the schedule is tight and the task is heavy. The high mountains and steep slopes in the line crossing area have become the first problem to open the construction access road as the "life channel" of the project.

The construction work surface of the Tianling tunnel portal is located in a mountainous area, and the portal is located on the hillside. The left tunnel portal is only 1m away from the slope and the right tunnel portal is only 9m away from the slope. The mountain is steep so it is difficult to enter the tunnel. There are many adverse geological conditions in the tunnel area, and there are lower Chuanchang Creek and headrace tunnel. All these factors make the construction difficult and make it known as the "three noes" place with no road, no work site and no construction conditions.

At the initial stage of mobilization, technicians entered the site by means of walking into the mountains and carrying instrument on shoulders. The material is pushed by loaders in the back, pulled by excavators in the front and transported by small tractors. Finally, the difficulties of material transportation such as large slope, sharp turn and long distance are solved. This also laid the foundation for the highest monthly footage of single tunnel excavation of about 300m in the whole line created by the later construction, as well as the smooth passage of the tunnel construction through the risk section and breakthrough as scheduled.

"After more than a month of construction, the access road was opened to the entrance of Tianling tunnel." Huang Zhigang, the person in charge of the general office of the project, introduced that the most purchased items during the construction of the access road are rain shoes and gloves. The on-site personnel climb up and risk and cut bamboo to explore the way every day. The blisters on the technicians' feet and mountains of worn-out rain shoes are the best evidence of their hard work progress. Now the concrete of the whole main access road has been hardened. With the opening and operation of Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway, the access road will be handed over to local use.

Nanjing Tulou is located in Nanjing County, Zhangzhou City. With a history of more than 1,000 years, the building is famous for its long history, large quantity, grand scale, vagarious shape and unique style. For everyone involved in the construction of the expressway, it’s really a tough task to protect the picturesque natural landscape and completing the construction with high quality and quantity.

Ganfang Super Bridge and Nanjing Tulou enhance each other's beauty

Considering that the bridge is located in the mountainous area and adjacent to the World Cultural Heritage, the builders have taken measures, such as create dust-free and soil-free site, dust and noise-control, minimizing the occupation of green land and instant green land restoration, to ensuring both the construction and the protection of the ecological and cultural resources.

Meanwhile, by making plan in advance, the builders responded to the environmental protection concept of “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” in an active manner and fully promoted the application of new technologies, new materials and new machinery in the project. By using the reserved land and abandoned roads, investing advanced equipment, building protective facilities, protecting the slopes and taking other measures, the builders have met the requirements set for them, such as minimal occupation of basic farmland and zero sewage discharge. Through these efforts, the builders have given a full play to the guiding role of green construction in energy conservation and emission-reduction work. The builders have also spared no effort to create a "green construction demonstration project"

The Nanjing section of the Zhangzhou-Wuping Expressway project is a key program of the "13th Five-Year Plan" in Fujian Province, and the section is a fast and convenient lane connecting Nanjing County and Yongding District of Longyan City, and also an important infrastructure for people in the 13 townships of the two counties. The opening of the expressway is conducive to improving the layout of the expressway network in Fujian Province, promoting economic development both in the regional area and the southwest Fujian. The expressway is the "main traffic artery" that opens up the logistics collection and transportation of Zhangzhou Zhaoyingang District to the southern Jiangxi and western Fujian, and is of great significance to the utilization of tourism resources such as the Fujian Tulou and the construction of Zhangzhou's modern coastal city.