A new road passing through all five subdistricts and the airport in Bao'an District was put into service yesterday, and it is expected to cut the travel time between Shenzhen and Dongguan to within 45 minutes.

Bao'an Thoroughfare will link with Shennan Thoroughfare at Xincheng Checkpoint, and is expected to greatly improve traffic conditions in Bao'an District.

With a total investment of 2.29 billion yuan (US$286.2 million), the 32.8-kilometer road is presently allowing only passenger vehicles during the day. It is now the top choice for drivers and commuters in Bao'an District.

When Bao'an Thoroughfare is connected to Shennan Thoroughfare in the first half of this year, the two roads will link up to form China's longest urban road, which is over 60 kilometers long.

The 100-meter-wide Bao'an Thoroughfare has four lanes in each direction, separated by big patches of greenery dotted with beautiful palm trees.

"The greening belts alone cost us more than 100 million yuan," said Guo Jun, a Bao'an District construction official. The greenery occupies 990,000 square meters along the road and is made up of 220 species of plants.

Most of the road surface is covered by asphalt to reduce noise to the minimum, and a network of surveillance cameras has been installed to catch traffic violators.

Traffic lights have been installed at 31 intersections and two zebra crossings. Cameras will capture vehicles running red lights as well as trucks using the road during forbidden periods. Along the road, another 20 surveillance cameras keeping a close watch on the traffic flow so that traffic police can arrive at accident scenes and help relieve jams quickly.

"We will set up two electronic broadcasting boards along the road to warn drivers of jams ahead and suggest alternative routes for them," Guo Jun said.

Of the 29 footbridges across the Bao'an Thoroughfare, 18 bridges make a new spotlight on the landscape [WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?]. "It's a pleasure to walk on such a nice bridge," a passer-by surnamed Zhang was quoted by the Daily Sunshine as saying yesterday.

There are 57 bus stops, or one every 500 meters, along the new road. Some city buses will soon change route and take Bao'an Thoroughfare.

The new thoroughfare begins at Xincheng checkpoint and ends at Tangxiachong crossover on the border between Shenzhen and Dongguan. The heavily jammed National Highway 107 will be mainly reserved for trucks from now on . Another road linking Shenzhen and Dongguan is the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, which is also plagued by jams.

Editor: Donald