The eight-lane Yangjiang-Maoming Expressway opened to traffic on Dec 16. It passes by famous saltwater mine hot springs, Moon Bay, Chicken Island and Romantic Coast. It also passes by places selling local specialties such as Chengcun oysters, goose rice and rice cakes.

It will further open up western Guangdong, integrate into the main traffic arteries of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, promote the development and construction of the Binhai New Area in western Guangdong, and drive the cultivation of new economic growth poles.

The expanded sections of the Yangjiang-Maoming Expressway start at Baisha Street, Jiangcheng district, Yangjiang city, and end at Guanzhu town, Dianbai district, Maoming city, with a total length of 79.76 kilometers.

After the expansion, the width of the highway's roadbed increased from 28 meters to 42 m, and the traffic speed is now 120 km per hour. This expressway has an average daily traffic volume of nearly 50,000, and its peak traffic volume can reach 135,000.

The middle zone of the expressway has also been transformed into a concrete guardrail to prevent vehicles from running off the road in an accident. In addition, a road video event detection system has been installed on the expressway so that abnormal conditions can be detected automatically.

The project will also consist of the Xinyangxi service area, which is themed around kites and oysters. At the same time, the original Yangxi service area will be expanded and renamed Xinxu service area. It is expected to be officially put into use next year.

The Yangjiang-Maoming Expressway. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]