Highways are the main arteries of modern economy, serving as bridges connecting cities and rural areas, coastal and inland areas, and developed and underdeveloped areas. On December 28, 2023, the Mianyang Cangxi Expressway project was officially opened and is scheduled to start operation at 0:00 on December 29. At the same time, 10 projects, including Guangyuan Pingwu, Emei Hanyuan, Renmuxin, Cangxi Bazhong, Chengdu Mianyang expansion, Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area Mianyang, Leshan Mabian, Gulin Jinsha, Ningnan Panzhihua, Zilong connecting line, will also be completed and opened to traffic on the same day. The opening of these projects signifies that the operating mileage of highways in Sichuan Province has officially exceeded 9800 kilometers. The achievement of this milestone will further promote the transportation development of Sichuan Province, strengthen economic connections between regions, and enhance its transportation status nationwide and even globally.

In 2023, 15 projects and 624 kilometers of expressways in Sichuan Province will be completed and opened to traffic. Among them, 143 kilometers of projects (road sections) from Neijiang to Dazu, Yibin to Weixin, Jiuzhi to Malkang, and Chengle expansion were completed and opened to traffic before the third quarter. With the addition of the 481 kilometer section that is about to be connected to the internet, the total mileage of Sichuan Expressway will reach 9803 kilometers, ranking third in the country.

Among these completed and open to traffic projects, five new routes out of Sichuan have been added, namely Jiuzhi to Markang (the boundary between Sichuan and Qinghai), Neijiang to Dazu (the boundary between Sichuan and Chongqing), Yibin to Weixin (the boundary between Sichuan and Yunnan), Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area to Mianyang (the boundary between Sichuan and Gansu), and Gulin to Jinsha (the boundary between Sichuan and Guizhou). So far, there have been 32 expressways out of Sichuan, further strengthening the connectivity with surrounding provinces, and promoting Sichuan's better integration into national major development strategies such as the the Belt and Road, the new land sea channel in the west, and the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Taking the Mianyang Cangxi Expressway project as an example, the project is approximately 102.5 kilometers long, with four lanes in both directions, a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour, and a total investment of 13.96 billion yuan. The project starts in the south of Weicheng Town, Mianyang City and connects to the expansion project of the Chengdu Mianyang section of the G5 Beijing Kunming Expressway. It passes through Zitong County, Jiange County, Cangxi County, and connects to the Cangxi Bazhong Expressway. After the opening of the expressway, it will be of great significance for improving the inter provincial corridor between Sichuan and Shaanxi, strengthening the connection between the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone and the Northeast Sichuan Economic Zone, and promoting the accelerated catch-up and leapfrog development of the revolutionary old areas and underdeveloped counties in Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Thanks to the construction and opening of the above-mentioned highways, the coverage of highways in Sichuan Province will increase to 146 counties. Among them, Jiuzhi to Markang, Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area to Mianyang, Emei to Hanyuan, Mianyang to Cangxi, Cangxi to Bazhong and other projects open to traffic have covered five underdeveloped counties, Aba County, Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area County, Ganluo County, Cangxi County, and Enyang County, which will complement the local traffic weakness, promote the catch-up and leapfrog development of underdeveloped counties, and implement the bottom-up assistance strategy for underdeveloped counties of Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government.

In addition, projects such as Emei to Hanyuan, Renmuxin, and Guangyuan to Pingwu, which will be completed and opened to traffic in sections before 2023, will also achieve full line opening. This will effectively help to further improve the high-speed kilometer network in Sichuan Province, enhance the efficiency and service level of the road network.

In 2024, Sichuan Province plans to complete an investment of 260 billion yuan in the construction of highways and waterways. The target is to build and open more than 500 kilometers of expressways, and the new construction of expressways will also reach over 500 kilometers. The highway projects under construction in the province cover 37 projects, including the G4216 Yangtze River Expressway, the expansion of the Chengdu Chongqing Expressway, the G7611 Zhaotong Xichang section expressway, and the G4218 Kangding Xinduqiao expressway, with a total length of 3392 kilometers. These projects will be gradually completed during the 14th Five Year Plan period, and it is expected that by the end of the 14th Five Year Plan period, the total length of highways in the province will exceed 11000 kilometers. This achievement will enable Sichuan to form a strategic comprehensive transportation corridor of "four directions and eight corridors" and an international comprehensive transportation hub cluster of the Chengdu Chongqing economic circle, significantly enhancing its ability to develop and open up to the outside world, and laying a solid foundation for building a "pole" of comprehensive three-dimensional transportation in the country. Editor/Zhao E