In 2024, the construction of highways in Hunan Province entered a new journey, with an annual planned investment of up to 55 billion yuan, covering 32 construction projects and a total length of 2200 kilometers. Among them, the construction goals of the four expressways, Hengyong, Yongling, Yuanchen, and Bainan, have been identified as tasks that must be completed this year. At the same time, the expansion projects of the G4 Beijing Hong Kong Macao Expressway, such as Changsha Zhuzhou and Zhuzhou Leizhou, will also usher in a new start time. The entire project team is closely following the goal and making every effort to accelerate the construction process.

At the asphalt construction site of the middle surface layer on the right side of the third contract section of the Bainan Expressway, a busy and orderly scene comes into view. Transport trucks, pavers, and rollers shuttle back and forth, with each process closely connected. All personnel are rushing towards the goal of opening to traffic this year with full enthusiasm. As of now, 99% of the total design amount has been completed for the roadbed engineering of the Bainan Expressway project, and 96% of the total design amount has also been completed for the control project of Dongjiatan Xiangjiang Grand Bridge.

The Bainan Expressway, located within the territory of Hengyang City and spanning Hengshan and Hengdong counties, has a total length of 46.9 kilometers and a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour. It is not only an important connecting line between the G4 Beijing Hong Kong Macao Expressway and the Yuelin Expressway, but also a beautiful business card for Hunan's transportation construction. To ensure the quality of asphalt construction on the road surface, the entire Bainan Expressway adopts an advanced intelligent rolling control system. This system enables management personnel to view the compaction status and results in real-time through monitoring terminals, effectively avoiding non-standard operation behaviors such as overpressure and undervoltage.

At the construction site of the Yuanchen Expressway, it is also a busy scene. The road surface ancillary, traffic safety engineering, and road surface paving work are progressing in an orderly manner. On the experimental section of the asphalt upper layer, multiple mechanical equipment work together to ensure that the initial compaction of the asphalt mixture closely follows the compaction of the paver, reducing heat loss and ensuring construction quality.

The Yuanchen Expressway, with a total length of 50.5 kilometers, has completed the construction tasks of its control projects, including the Chenxi Yuanshui Extra Large Bridge and the Miaotang An Tunnel. The completion and opening of this expressway will greatly promote the development of regional resources and the coordinated development of the economy and society, injecting new vitality into the transportation network of Hunan and even the entire region.

In addition, Hunan will solidly promote the construction of ordinary national and provincial trunk roads this year, with a planned investment of 6 billion yuan, 347 kilometers of new construction and 200 kilometers completed. At the same time, Hunan will actively establish a database of highway infrastructure, deepen the promotion and application of low-carbon and durable technology for the maintenance of national and provincial trunk roads, and strive to achieve an excellent road rate of over 95% for highways and over 90% for ordinary national and provincial roads. In additon, Hunan will also build and utilize a comprehensive information management platform for digital highways throughout the province, optimize the scientific decision-making model for the maintenance of national and provincial trunk roads, and strive to achieve an accuracy of over 90% in maintenance scientific decision-making analysis, injecting new impetus into the sustainable development of Hunan's highway industry.Editor/Cheng Liting