Shenda highway

The Shenda Expressway (simplified Chinese: 沈大高速公路; traditional Chinese: 瀋大高速公路; pinyin: Shěn Dà Gāo Sù Gōng Lù) is a 400 km expressway that connects Shenyang and Dalian, two prefecture-level cites located in Liaoning province of China.

History

The highway was built between 1984 and 1990. The name combines the first character of each of the 2 cities, Shen and Da, making it the Shenda highway. It translates literally to Shenda high-speed roadway. Originally, it was a 4-lane freeway. It was rebuilt recently and now has 8 lanes.

The controversy over whether it is the first expressway in mainland China

Shenda highway is claimed to be the first expressway in China mainland. It was planned as an express highway but was actually built as a freeway. Due to its length (400 km), it was opened section by section. Although the entire route was not completed until 1990, its first section had already opened in 1986. By 1988, more than 100 km of the route was opened to public traffic. Its competitor, the Hujia Expressway,only 18.5 km long, also claimed to be the first expressway in mainland China. It was completed in 1988.

Main Exits

References