Off the wire
Copa Libertadores: Defending champions Atletico Nacional ousted  • Mexico City faces worst air pollution in two decades  • Eating fruit, vegetables secret to looking good: Australian study  • Interview: Slovenia wishes to become major logistic hub of Belt and Road Initiative, says minister  • Xinhua China news advisory -- May 19  • Gold price opens lower in Hong Kong  • Melbourne has longest yet slowest tram network in the world: study  • China treasury bond futures open lower Friday  • Hong Kong stocks open 0.14 pct higher  • Chinese football has bright future, says FIFA official Zhang Jian  
You are here:   Home/ News

Expressway opens on permafrost of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Xinhua, August 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

An expressway opened Tuesday on the permafrost of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the world's highest plateau.

The 634.8-km expressway section, which connects Gonghe County with the city of Yushu in northwest China's Qinghai Province, was built at an average altitude of over 4,000 meters.

Up to 36 percent of the road is built on permafrost that could become unstable due to temperature changes caused by vehicles.

Advanced technology was developed to keep the ground surface stable for the construction and operation of the expressway, said Niu Jiangzhong, from the Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd. of China Railway 12th Bureau Group.

Construction of the road took over six years, at a total cost of nearly 27 billion yuan (4 billion U.S. dollars).

To protect the local environment, vegetation was removed during construction and later replanted along the roadside.

The expressway has shortened the travel time between the provincial capital Xining and Yushu from 12 to just eight hours.