Road Remains Unfinished Due to Environmental Concern
03/18/2016
The unfinished section seen in the map. Image: ifeng
A 3.4 kilometer section of Shahe Road in Longgang District, Shenzhen, has been left unfinished for more than a decade because of environmental concern.
The road, costing 1.55 billion yuan (US$236.99 million), stretching 17-kilometer in total, is meant to link Longgang Busha Road in the west and Baohe Road in the east. Construction of the project began form July 2004, and it was scheduled to open before the Spring Festival of 2006.
Image: souhu
In December 2010, 14.3-kilometer of the project opened to traffic, yet the 3.4-kilometer section near Yanpai Expressway remains unfinished, being the longest unfinished road in Shenzhen.
The western section, originally designed to pass beside Shenzhen Reservoir, was rejected after an assessment by environmental authorities and construction was halted because of relocation cost disputes, though experts have adjusted plans dozens of times.
At a meeting in February 2010, city government approved a plan to construct a 1,500-meter tunnel through Dawang Mountain and a 900-meter bridge over a corner of Shenzhen Reservoir to finish the project.
The western section was designed to pass beside Shenzhen Reservoir. Image: blog.sina
The tunnel was designed to be finished in 2016 and the bridge in 2017, according to the plan submitted by Longgang District Government.
However, the plan was halted again because the bridge would cross over Shenzhen Reservoir, a protected water source, and thereby requires approval by provincial authorities.
“As the adjustment plan for ecological protection of Shenzhen Reservoir hasn’t been approved by provincial environmental authorities, the road project was halted again,” the Longgang District Public Works Bureau said.
Recent news from the Bureau said that the 3.4 kilometers road will be completed in 2017.