Fourth Ring Road Opens to Traffic

Beijing Fourth Ring Road Opened to Traffic

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The final section of Beijing's Fourth Ring Road is now open to traffic. The construction of the final, western section officially ended on Saturday,which is expected to ease traffic congestion and aid economic development.

The 65-kilometer-long Fourth Ring Road project is the longest and widest urban expressway in China. It expands across eight lanes and is about 16 kilometres from the city centre. The project links a dozen major urban roads and ten trans-city expressways to form a more efficient traffic network.

Before the opening of the western section, the road had taken about 30 percent of Beijing's traffic. With all of the road now open, it is expected to carry even more traffic, reducing pollution in the central city. The project is also known as an environmentally friendly project for use of plants.

Zhou Zhengyu, Engineer of the Beijing Road Communication Co. said: "There are more than 700 hectares of trees and plants along the road, ten times the green coverage of the Summer Palace. It will serve as an important artery for the city and will be known as Olympic Avenue."

The road connects major venues proposed for the 2008 Olympics as well as Zhongguancun high tech zone. It is expected to help Beijing's bid for the Olympics and boost the city's economic development.

According to government statistics, the completion of the road will increase the value of real estate along the main artery by nearly 4 billion US dollars. The city's GDP has grown with the huge investment on the road.