China slices through mountain in order to construct expressway

Instead of drilling towers through mountains or building around them as commonly done by some engineers when building highways, Chinese engineers on their own part decided to  slice through a mountain in order to make room for the Lu’an Expressway in the Guizhou Province of China.

About 92 per cent of Guizhou Province is made of mountains and cliffs, which makes it a nightmare for commuters. However, in order to find a solution to their commuting, the engineers decided to literally slice through the mountain peaks and went ahead to construct the expressway.

According to the Spanish news outlet, Diario AS, engineers used explosives, large drills and precision excavation to carve a wide corridor through rugged peaks, creating a V-shaped fissure for the expressway to pass through.

The area features a landscape (limestone mountainous terrains) with steep mountains and deep valleys, making construction extremely difficult.

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Construction began in January 2022. By early 2025, significant milestones were reached: the last structural segment was installed in January, and by April it was about 95% complete. It’s expected to officially open before the end of 2025.

Upon completion, it will feature 14 interchanges, connecting the southern part of Liuzhi city, Guanling County, Zhenfeng County, and Anlong County, according to reports. 

With this feat, motorists and commuters in the province will soon be able to avoid embarking on hour-long journeys and will instead cross the expressway on top of the mountain within five minutes. The construction will also give people in remote villages the opportunity to visit the city as often as they want.