The Jingshi section of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway renovation and expansion project is 95% completed and will be fully operational by the end of the year

Original title: The Jingshi section of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway renovation and expansion project is 95% completed, and the entire line will be open to traffic by the end of the year

The high-speed bridge under construction. Photo by Shi Sheng, a reporter from Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reporter Zhang Qinghua/Wen reporter Shi Shengquan/Photo

The Hebei section of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway will be opened by the end of the year. The renovation and expansion project of this section consists of the Shi'an renovation and expansion section and the Beijing Shijiazhuang renovation and expansion section. After visiting the construction of the Shi'an renovation and expansion project, on October 15th, the reporter also visited the Jingshi renovation and expansion project to understand its new progress and experience the high standard facilities in advance.

95% of the main construction of the Jing Shi renovation and expansion section has been completed

The Hebei section of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway has a total length of 434.558 kilometers, including 224.678 kilometers for the Beijing Shijiazhuang section and 209.88 kilometers for the Shi'an section. The estimated total investment is 36.652 billion yuan, including 18.889 billion yuan for the Beijing Shijiazhuang section and 17.763 billion yuan for the Shi'an section. It is currently a four lane to eight lane expressway renovation and expansion project with a long mileage and large one-time investment in China.

It is reported that the Jingshi section of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway is a major north-south transportation artery in Hebei Province's 2020 expressway network layout plan, consisting of five vertical, six horizontal, and seven lines. It is an important expressway connecting the central and southern regions of Hebei Province with the capital Beijing, and further connecting the Northeast, North, and Central regions. It has a very prominent position in the national and Hebei Province road networks and is one of the busiest transportation channels in the country.

The Beijing Shijiazhuang renovation and expansion project starts from Xiyanghe Village, Matou Town, Zhuozhou City, at the junction of Beijing and Hebei. It runs southward through 11 counties and districts, including Zhuozhou, Gaobeidian, Dingxing, Xushui, Baoding North City, Baoding South City, Qingyuan, Wangdu, Dingzhou, Xinle, Gaocheng, and ends at Pengjiazhuang in Gaocheng, Shijiazhuang City. It connects with the ongoing renovation and expansion project of the Beijing Hong Kong Macau Expressway from Shijiazhuang to Anyang (border between Hebei and Henan). Simultaneously construct 7 interchange connecting lines, passing through Anxin, Wuji, and Zhengding counties, with a total length of 73.637 kilometers.

The entire line will renovate and expand 13 interchanges including Film and Television City, Zhuozhou, Lintun, Gaobeidian, Dingxing, Xushui, Shangzhuang, Baoding, Baoding South, Dafu, Qingyuan, Wangdu, and Dingzhou, and build 7 interchanges including Houlangying, Dingzhou South, Guocun, Nanshuangjing, Lijiatuan, Hanjiawa, and Pengjiazhuang.

Chen Junchao, Director of the Planning and Construction Department for the Beijing Shijiazhuang Expressway Reconstruction and Expansion in Hebei Province, stated that the reconstruction and expansion project of the Beijing Shijiazhuang section consists of a total of eight lanes in both directions, with a roadbed width of 42 meters and a design speed of 120 kilometers per hour. There are 17 new or renovated toll stations, 4 maintenance work areas, and 7 service areas along the entire line.

As of October 10, 2014, the project has completed a cumulative investment of 17.25 billion yuan, accounting for 91.3% of the total project budget. The main project has been completed by 95%, the service area project by 60%, the toll station by 70%, the traffic safety facilities by 30%, and the mechanical and electrical engineering by 50%. 

Road rollers used for construction on highways. Photo by Shi Sheng, a reporter from Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

Full range WiFi coverage in service areas, toll stations, and toll plazas

On the morning of that day, starting from the intersection of Qiyi Road in Baoding city, we traveled north along the Beijing Shijiazhuang expansion section, with a wide and flat road surface. Along the way, we saw some sections where construction workers were marking ground lines. The guardrail of the central divider was the same as that of the Shi'an renovation and expansion section, using concrete guardrails.

Zhuozhou is 62km long, Dingxing is 24km long... "The road signs span half of the road, and the white text is very prominent. According to the staff of the Beijing Shijiazhuang Expressway Reconstruction and Expansion Planning Office in Hebei Province, due to the very wide road surface, gantry frames will be used as road signs for guidance, and rolling screens will be installed on the gantry frames to broadcast relevant road condition information.

At the Xushui Interchange, the reporter saw that excavators were undergoing construction, and the main project of Xushui Toll Station had also been completed. There are 17 new and renovated toll stations along the entire line, including Dingxing toll station, Xushui toll station, Baoding North toll station, Baoding toll station, Baoding South toll station, Qingyuan toll station, Wangdu toll station, etc.

In the Dingxing service area, the reporter saw that the main project of the east service area has been completed and the hardening of the road square is underway. According to Liu Pengfei, a staff member of the Beijing Shijiazhuang Expressway Reconstruction and Expansion Planning Office in Hebei Province, the service area is divided into two squares, front and rear, which are respectively used for parking large and small vehicles. It can accommodate 100 small passenger cars and 70 large cars at the same time

Liu Pengfei stated that the service area uses ground source heat pumps for heating, reducing environmental pollution. The service area covers an area of 120 acres, with a green area accounting for about 20%. There is also a basketball court and a pavilion built in the service area

It is reported that four new service areas will be built in this section, namely Gaocheng Service Area, Dingzhou Service Area, Dingxing Service Area, and Baoding Service Area. Implement comprehensive WiFi coverage in service areas, toll stations, and toll plazas. With the development and changes of the times, the service facilities of high-speed service areas and toll stations must keep up. ”Chen Junchao said. 

Greening on both sides of the highway. Photo by Shi Sheng, a reporter from Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

Building a green landscape cultural corridor in Beijing and Shijiazhuang

Driving south from the Dingxing service area, the bright and beautiful Persian chrysanthemums sway in the wind on both sides of the roadside slopes.

As we were about to reach the Dingzhou section, the reporter saw that holly had already been planted in the median strip. As we drove further south, we saw workers filling the median strip with soil and planting holly.

According to the staff of the Beijing Shijiazhuang Expressway Reconstruction and Expansion Planning Office in Hebei Province, in the design of the central divider, the service area and interchange section of the entire line are extended by one kilometer on both sides with plant anti glare, and three combinations of evergreen plants and flowers are adopted to provide comfortable and natural visual effects for passing drivers and passengers.

At the same time, based on the cultural characteristics of the region, landscape ornaments will be added, such as the Baocang hub section, extracting the characteristic landscape of Baoding Zhili Governor General's Office "Baogu Stone" as an element, making small sculptures, and scattered in the central divider. Key areas should be equipped with Jing Shi landmark scenic walls, such as a scenic wall with the content of "Jing Ji Grand Passage" set up in the section that passes through Jing Shi Passenger Dedicated Line.

In roadside design, slope protection greening is divided into key road sections and general road sections based on their geographical location. In the entrance section of Beijing and the boundary section with Shi'an, evergreen trees and colorful leaved trees are selected, combined with flowering shrubs, and planted for 5 kilometers to create a landscape effect of staggered plant layers.

The greening design of the interchange area enriches the highway landscape by combining visual focal points and creating terrain features. For example, in the Baoding Interchange, the terrain is artificially created at the visual focal point, using various types of plants such as pine, crabapple, and phoenix tail orchid, and employing a reasonable combination of trees, shrubs, and ground cover to create a sense of hierarchy and color.

Construction of sound barrier foundation. Photo by Shi Sheng, a reporter from Yanzhao Metropolis Daily

The paving of the new road section will be completed this month

Driving on the Xinle Elevated Bridge in the newly constructed section of Jingshi, the reporter saw that the bottom layer of the bridge deck had already been paved. The newly-built section of Jingshi starts from Xinleguo Village Interchange and ends at Pengjiazhuang Interchange in Gaocheng, with a total length of 38 kilometers.

The main road surface of the new section is currently undergoing the third layer paving, and the overall pavement paving project is expected to be completed by the 25th of this month. The construction of the service area and ramp will strive to be completed by the 31st of this month. "Wang Lixin, the director of the second director's office of the Beijing Shijiazhuang renovation and expansion project, said that daily pavement paving can use more than 4000 tons of materials to complete about 2.5 kilometers of pavement construction. After the completion of the mainline project, the remaining main tasks are the construction of transportation ancillary facilities and greening

The Mudaogou Bridge is a newly constructed bridge, and near the bridge, workers are cleaning up debris on the road surface. Every layer of road surface must be cleaned of debris to ensure the quality of the project, "said Wang Lixin.

The person in charge of the expansion and renovation of the Jingshi section stated that before the expansion and renovation, the daily average traffic volume was 25000 vehicles. It is expected that after the completion of the renovation and expansion project, it will increase to an average of 60000 to 80000 vehicles per day.