A 166.98-kilometer-long expressway linking Lhasa, capital of the Xizang autonomous region, and Shigatse, a prefecture-level city, has been fully connected after being built in two phases to boost local transport.
The first phase — Lhasa to Lhasa airport, and Shigatse to Shigatse airport — has been put into operation, while the second phase, or the middle section partially built by China Railway No. 4 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CREC4), has finished its construction.
The Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway is part of the G4218 Yaan-Yecheng Expressway, which starts at Juntian Village under Yaan’s Yucheng district in Sichuan province, and ends at Yecheng under Kashgar at the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, spanning three provincial-level regions: Sichuan, Xizang and Xinjiang.
Work on the Yaan-Yecheng Expressway officially started in October 2012 and on December 31, 2018, its entire Sichuan section was opened to traffic.
On May 9, 2022, the Nyingchi-Lhasa section of the Yaan-Yecheng Expressway was opened to traffic, following the trial operation of the Lhasa-Shigatse section in the east since Nov 22, 2021.
The Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway is 166.98 kilometers long, among which 51 percent are bridges and tunnels, and builders from CREC4 Second Engineering Co., Ltd have been building its No 12 Bid which is 22.2 kilometers long. Their construction tasks mainly cover roadbed, tunnels and bridges on the main line, culverts.
The Yaan-Yecheng Expressway is a major part for the east-west links in the national expressway network, and will help boost Xizang’s economic and social development by optimizing its road network and facilitating people’s travel.