China Opens World’s Longest Expressway Tunnel in Xinjiang

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recently became the site where China officially launched the development of the longest expressway tunnel in the world, the 22.13-kilometre Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, which is now one of the significant investments in national infrastructure. The tunnel, on the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Expressway, now enables cars to pass through the heart of the Tianshan Mountains in approximately 20 minutes, significantly reducing the time it used to take, which was an hour before the new expressway. Built over five years and costing a lot of money, the expressway will improve north-south connectivity across Xinjiang, shorten travel time between key cities such as Urumqi and Korla, and is likely to create wider economic integration and external communication in the region.

China Opens 22.13 km Tianshan Tunnel

• It is the longest expressway tunnel in the world, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, which is 22.13 km and was officially opened in Xinjiang.

• It saves time, which is spent on the Tianshan Mountains by several hours, and makes it an average of 20 minutes.

• The tunnel belongs to the Urumqi-Yuli expressway, which enhances the connectivity in the north-south direction in Xinjiang.

• It reduces the Urumqi-Korla trip that would have consumed almost 7 hours down to approximately 3 hours.

• The project is a five-year project that traverses 16 fault zones and enhances the integration of the region's trade, tourism, and economic status.

Read Also: 

Conclusion (World’s Longest Expressway Tunnel)

The opening of the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is a significant engineering milestone for China and the whole world. The tunnel will enhance connectedness in the region, improve economic integration in Xinjiang, and provide a new international standard of expressway infrastructure construction by significantly shortening the time it will take to pass across the Tianshan Mountains.