Xiangyang Daily (Reporter Li Shuyu, Correspondent Li Wen) On February 28, construction of the Laohekou-Nanzhang Expressway reached a key milestone: pile foundation drilling for the Yindan Sanganqu Bridge, one of the project’s key controlled works, commenced in Hongshanzui Town, Laohekou, Xiangyang, Hubei Province. On the same day, pile foundation construction also began simultaneously for both the Gucheng Hanshui River Grand Bridge and the Nanzhang Huilong River Bridge, signifying the full transition of the project’s first-phase section into the substantive construction phase.

It has been reported that the Laohekou–Nanzhang Expressway spans a total length of 89.7 kilometers, starting from Hongshanzui Town in Laohekou and ending at the Macheng-Ankang Expressway’s Nanzhang Service Area in Nanzhang County. The project is being built to a dual four-lane expressway standard, with a design speed of 100 km/h and a roadbed width of 26 meters, featuring 10 interchanges along the route. The project is jointly funded by Hanjiang Guotou (HJGT) and other entities and is being constructed by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

As an important part of the second expressway link connecting the Xiangyang metropolitan area to the Wuhan metropolitan area, the project carries significant strategic value. Once completed, it will greatly shorten travel time between Laohekou and Nanzhang, effectively addressing traffic bottlenecks in the northwestern Hubei mountainous region, and will play an important role in boosting the quality and efficiency of local specialty agriculture and eco-tourism industries along the route.

“The project team will organize construction scientifically, closely monitor key milestones, and reverse-plan the schedule,” said Zhao Wanping, Assistant to the Commander of the Xiangyang Series Expressway Projects of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., at the groundbreaking ceremony. They will strive to accelerate construction while ensuring quality, safety, and environmental protection, aiming to complete all project targets on schedule.