First long tunnel of Tian'e-Bama Expressway completes construction

The 1,687-meter-long right line of the No 3 tunnel in Jiazhuan town, Bama Yao autonomous county, was successfully completed Dec 23, marking significant progress in the construction of the Tian'e-Bama Expressway. 

The site for the tunnel is home to a cave, which has brought various complicated problems for construction. Guangxi Longma Expressway Company, the tunnel's contractor, however, after adopting advanced drilling techniques to accurately locate the distribution area of karst landform, safety was guaranteed for excavating the No 3 tunnel, which has been a major breakthrough for the construction of the whole Tian'e-Bama Expressway.

The 104.68-kilometer-long Tian'e-Bama Expressway, which starts near Ganglingpo in Tian'e county, passes through Donglan county, Fengshan county and  Bama Yao autonomous county in a general north-south direction, and ends in Bama town where it connects with the Du'an-Bama Expressway. It is designed as a two-way six-lane expressway with a designated speed of 100 km per hour. There are 49 tunnels on its main line with a total length of about 50,000 meters. It is expected to provide a solid foundation for the integrated development of the Donglan-Bama-Fengshan area when it opens to traffic in 2023.

An aerial view of the  Tian'e-Bama Expressway tunnel construction site. [Photo/Hechi Daily]