URUMQI, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- All townships in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region bid farewell to dirt roads, as an 82 km asphalt road linking Tar Tajik Township was completed recently.

Tar Tajik Township was the last township in Xinjiang without an asphalt road. The only access to town used to be a narrow unpaved road.

The construction of the road was completed and opened to traffic on Sunday.

The road construction project was launched in August last year. With a total investment of 517 million yuan (around 73.7 million U.S. dollars), the new road measures 4.5 meters in width and sits between 1,700 and 3,500 meters above sea level. Many sections of the road were built on steep cliffs.

As a part of poverty alleviation projects in the region, the road is expected to bring prosperity to impoverished people and boost local economy in southern Xinjiang.