The Changsha-Yiyang Expressway, one section of the No.319 State-level Highway from Shanghai to Chongqing, starts from the west of the No.2 bridge across the Xiangjiang River and ends at the southern approach to the No.2 bridge across the Zijiang River. It is 71.508 km long, of which the Changsha section is 38.327 km long and the Yiyang section 33.181 km long. The highway has six lanes. It is a hermetically enclosed highway with designed speed at 100kph. The total investment was about 1.2 billion yuan. The project began in December 1995 and opened to traffic on July 1, 1998.
The Changsha-Yiyang Expressway is the first-phase project of the Changsha-Changde Expressway which, running through Changsha, Yiyang and Changde cities, links Jiangxi Province in the east, connecting the Changsha Huanghua International Airport and Jingzhu and Changtan expressways, and links Zhangjiajie, a forest park at the national level, in the west, leading to Guizhou and Sichuan provinces. The construction of the Changsha-Yiyang Expressway is of great strategic significance to the construction of the framework of high-grade highways in Hunan to improve the transportation facilities in the eastern and western part of the province.
Changyong Expressway
The Changyong Expressway starts from Niujiaochong in Changsha County in the west and ends at Yong'an Town in Liuyang City in the east. It has a feeder road in the middle to connect the Huanghua International Airport.
The construction of the Changyong Expressway, under the Hunan Changyong Expressway Co., Ltd., started on July 15, 1994 and was generally completed at the end of June 1996. It officially opened to traffic on August 20, 1996.
The completion and opening of the Changyong Expressway has greatly eased the traffic congestion on the eastern edge of Changsha. It has also played an important role in improving the local environment for investment and reinvigorating the economy along the route.
Lianyi Expressway
The Lianyi Expressway, a key construction project of the Ministry of Transportations and the Hunan Province during the Eighth Five-Year-Plan period (1991-1995), is one section of the No.320 State-level Highway within the territory of Hunan Province. It starts at Lianhuachong in Liling, a border area between Hunan and Jiangxi, and ends at Yijiawan in Xiangtan, joining the No.106 and No.107 State-level Highways and the Changsha-Xiangtan Expressway, having a total length of 71.214km. Construction cost 577 million yuan.
The construction of the road began in January 1992 and proceeded in four phases. In February 1995, the whole line was completed and opened to traffic.
The designed speed is as follows: 100kph for the first-grade car lane, 80kph for the second-grade car lane. The road is provided with complete light signs. On the two sides of the road are arched steel plate railings or column railings. Separation railings are provided outside the roadbed, preventing pedestrians and livestock from entering the highway.
The Lianyi road serves as the major line linking Changsha and the industrial cities of Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. Its completion has greatly improved the investment environment and promoted economic development in this triangular region. In the meantime, it opens the eastern gateway of Hunan to link the province with east coastal provinces. After it joins the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway, when the latter is completed, the road will become a major artery facilitating the economic take-off of the province.