A highway zigzags through the rural area in Nantong. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

The traffic projects in Nantong, Jiangsu province have made breakthroughs this year, local media outlets reported.

Construction of multiple pathways crossing the Yangtze River has progressed faster than scheduled. Several hundred workers are busy building the Chongming-Qidong Highway and Railway Yangtze River Bridge, whose two main piers will be completed by the end of May while the consolidation and excavation on the foundation ditch and basement of the Haimen-Taicang Yangtze River Tunnel has also started.

In the future, the Nantong section of the Yangtze River will have one pathway crossing the river every 20 kilometers.

Three expressways will open to the traffic in the city within this year. The second ring expressway in the city, the 65.4-km Nantong Ring Expressway also serves as the connection between Chongming-Haimen and Haimen-Taicang Yangtze River passages. The construction has completed and its supporting facilities are being built.

Currently, Nantong is home to 17,506 km of highways, ranking among the cities in the province with the largest number of highways.

Improvement on waterways progresses smoothly in Nantong. This year, the city has allocated 3 billion yuan ($414.89 million) to renovate waterways, increasing the length of three-level waterways to 60 km by the end of this year.

In 2023, Nantong invested 41 billion yuan in traffic facility construction, exceeding one seventh of the provincial total and setting a new record.