With 2014 heralding the year of the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, the authorities are determined to start the year off right with the opening of large sections of two major new transportation arteries, over parts of the city closed to accommodate the upgrade for more than a year.
The new subterranean corridors of Jiangdong Lu and Huju Lu follow in the footsteps of Longpan Lu in the east of the city, based on a model whereby through traffic remains largely underground while the surface is utilized for the necessary slip roads that provide motorists with local access.
Slightly ahead of its more eastern counterpart, the Jiangdong Lu corridor also features an impressive flyeover arrangement that links the busy dual carriageway with Yingtian Da Jie passing perpendicularly overhead (see photo). From there, in a northward direction, the new Jiangdong Lu passes under Shuiximen Da Jie, Hangzhongmen Da Jie, Qingliangmen Da Jie, and ultimately Caochangmen Da Jie.
In the closing days before the roads’ openings, many local residents observed groups of elderly people assisting with the effort to have the new thoroughfares looking shipshape by 2014. Up and down the central reservation, retirees pulled together with the mass planting of shrubs and saplings in one giant beautification initiative.
Nanjing Expat spoke with one such volunteer, Mrs. Li Fanming, who lives off Hanzhongmen Da Jie, near the the new Jiangdong Lu subterranean corridor; “I feel I am helping not only my country but also my city. And it is helping to make my local environment a lot more pleasant. After all, it makes a change from sitting around playing Majiang all day.”
It is not just those stuck behind a steering wheel who will see the benefits of the new roads. Mr. Ma Cunling has always commuted to his work by bicycle along Huju Lu. He commented, “For more than a year it has been particularly difficult to get to and from work. The minimal space has meant cars have been mounting the pavement and pushing cyclists and pedestrians into each other. The new road is a big relief!”
