THE construction of two expressways and a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lane started in Shenzhen on Saturday.

When completed, the roads are expected to greatly relieve the city's traffic problems.

The three roads are: the second phase of Nanping Expressway, which links Nanshan and Bao'an districts, the first phase of Danping Road, which connects Luohu and Longgang districts, and the city's first BRT road, which covers the city's most prosperous districts of Luohu, Futian and Nanshan.

Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng attended ceremonies marking the beginning of construction of the three roads.

"Shenzhen will complete the construction of a road network composed of expressways, highways and trunk roads by 2011," said Xu on the sidelines of the ceremonies.

The second phase of Nanping Expressway extends 15.42 kilometers from Longzhu Road to Qianhai Flyover in Nanshan via Bao'an District. Its designed speed limit is 80 kilometers per hour and it is expected to be completed in the first half of 2009. The expressway includes a 1,800-meter-long tunnel.

The first phase of the eight-lane Nanping Expressway, which extends to Longgang District in the east, has already been completed. The expressway is expected to greatly ease the traffic in Nanshan and Bao'an districts and play an important role during the 2011 Universiade, as the main venue of the Universiade will be in Longgang.

The first phase of Danping Road extends 10 kilometers from the Aiguo Road Flyover in Luohu District to the Bainikeng Flyover in Longgang District. Built at a cost of 1.5 billion yuan (US$187 million), the road is expected to boost the development of Longgang District, which has long lagged behind the four districts within the special economic zone.

Shenzhen's first BRT lane is composed of one main lane and four branch lanes. The main lane extends 23.3 kilometers from Longzhu in Xili Subdistrict to Shenzhen Railway Station. One of the two branch lanes extends from Chegongmiao in Futian District to Qiaoxiang Road, while the other branch lanes extend from Meilin Checkpoint to Sungang Road.

The speed of buses on the BRT lane is expected to reach 25 kilometers per hour, which is twice the bus speed on major roads during rush hour. It is not clear when the first BRT line will be completed, but Vice Mayor Zhang Siping said the city would have five BRT lanes by 2011.

The city government will invest 14.3 billion yuan on traffic infrastructure this year, Zhang told an earlier government meeting.

Editor: Yan