Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway construction speeds up as key interchange takes shape
2025-10-16 19:10:24
By Yan Wanqin.
The Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway is moving ahead quickly, with work intensifying at the crucial Guanzhuang interchange.
Dozens of bridge piers have already risen, and more than a hundred workers were on-site on October 15, pushing forward construction at the Guanzhuang interchange of the Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway.
According to China Railway Seventh Group, the project contractor, nearly half of the work on this section has been completed, and the project is now in the final sprint phase, with a focus on bridge installation at the Guanzhuang interchange.
The Guanzhuang interchange, a key control point of the expressway, will become the largest and most advanced highway interchange in Yichang once completed. It will connect the Xiangyang–Yichang Expressway with the G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway through nine ramps, forming a new three-way interchange pattern.
Wang Xiaohui, the project’s technical director, explained that the interchange will enable Yichang to connect directly to three major destinations for the first time: Xiangyang, Chengdu, and Shanghai. Its innovative horizontal ramp design also provides additional buffer space for vehicles, improving both traffic efficiency and safety.
The Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway is moving ahead quickly, with work intensifying at the crucial Guanzhuang interchange.
Dozens of bridge piers have already risen, and more than a hundred workers were on-site on October 15, pushing forward construction at the Guanzhuang interchange of the Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway.
According to China Railway Seventh Group, the project contractor, nearly half of the work on this section has been completed, and the project is now in the final sprint phase, with a focus on bridge installation at the Guanzhuang interchange.
The Guanzhuang interchange, a key control point of the expressway, will become the largest and most advanced highway interchange in Yichang once completed. It will connect the Xiangyang–Yichang Expressway with the G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway through nine ramps, forming a new three-way interchange pattern.
Wang Xiaohui, the project’s technical director, explained that the interchange will enable Yichang to connect directly to three major destinations for the first time: Xiangyang, Chengdu, and Shanghai. Its innovative horizontal ramp design also provides additional buffer space for vehicles, improving both traffic efficiency and safety.
A schematic diagram highlights the Yichang section of the Xiangyang-Yichang Expressway in red.
With a total length of 143 kilometers and an investment of 24.6 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion), the Xiangyang–Yichang Expressway is a major infrastructure project under Hubei’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The Yichang section spans 87.5 kilometers. Once completed in 2027, the expressway will cut travel time between Xiangyang and Yichang from three hours to just one and a half.
Tan Qiangming contributed to this story.
