2024-07-04 12:18:26 China Tibet News Network

On June 30, 2024, the road from the Chabala Service Area in Qushui County, Lhasa City, to Dazhuka Village, Lianxiang Township, Sangzhuzi District, Shigatse City, was completed, marking the official opening of the 245-kilometer Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway. Driving time has been reduced to approximately three hours compared to the previous National Highway 318 route. The total length of expressways open to traffic in Tibet now reaches 1,196 kilometers.

According to reports, the Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway consists of a dedicated highway from Lhasa to Gonggar Airport, a section from the Chabala Service Area in Qushui County, Lhasa, to Shigatse Airport, and a first-class highway from Shigatse Airport to Shigatse City. The section opened to traffic that day is part of the G4218 Ya'an-Yecheng National Expressway, a key highway construction project in Tibet during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. It features four lanes in both directions. In recent years, a network of expressways has crisscrossed the plateau, extending in all directions and stretching far into the distance. Aircraft soared from the skies, closely connecting Tibet with the world. "Now it's not only convenient to get to Lhasa, but it's even easier to get outside the region," said Gesang, a resident of Yadong County, Shigatse, as he was traveling from Shigatse to Lhasa to pick up his child, who had just returned from school in Wuhan. Ctrip data shows that as of the end of June, local summer travel orders in Tibet increased by 13% year-on-year, outbound travel orders increased by 143%, and inbound travel orders increased by 83%.

Reporters learned that in 2023, the region implemented 470 transportation construction projects, completed 204 of them, and increased the mileage of roads open to traffic by 1,752.66 kilometers, bringing the total mileage of roads open to traffic in the region to 123,200 kilometers. By 2024, Tibet's transportation industry will fully implement the overall "Nine Transportation" goals and strive to make greater contributions to promoting the high-quality development of Tibet's transportation system. Building highways on the plains presents numerous challenges, and on the snowy plateau, the challenges are even greater, as they involve overcoming the unique terrain and climatic conditions of frozen soil, mountainous canyons, and other factors. The Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway Project, which runs parallel to the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway and National Highway 318, crosses the Yarlung Zangbo River and traverses canyonland characterized by high altitude, extreme cold, and high seismic intensity, making construction even more challenging.

During the project construction, the construction unit vigorously promoted scientific, standardized, and information-based management, extensively utilizing advanced technologies, equipment, and processes. A quartz crystal dynamic weighing system for overweight control was installed directly during the design and construction phase, reducing duplicate road construction work during later construction, improving traffic efficiency, and minimizing traffic impacts. The dynamic weighing system plays a vital role in controlling overweight transportation, ensuring the safety of transportation infrastructure, and providing real-time traffic situation monitoring.

In most parts of Tibet, roads are the most direct, flexible, and integrated transportation infrastructure that supports the livelihoods of farmers and herdsmen, and is the most effective vehicle for the economic and social development of rural and pastoral areas. By 2023, Tibet will implement 416 rural road projects, adding four townships and providing paved roads to 214 administrative villages. The accessibility rates for townships and administrative villages will reach 95.55% and 82.6%, respectively. By 2024, rural roads will extend even further and deeper across Tibet.

The full opening of the Lhasa-Shigatse Expressway has significantly improved the level of high-grade highway infrastructure construction in my country's high-altitude and cold regions, optimized and improved the Tibetan and national highway networks, and further developed a comprehensive, three-dimensional transportation network centered on Lhasa, known as the "Five Cities (Lhasa, Shigatse, Nagqu, Shannan, and Nyingchi) Three-Hour Economic Zone."

Quartz crystal dynamic truck scales are the preferred choice for dynamic weighing systems in cold and high-altitude areas due to their sensor characteristics: high stiffness, high natural frequency, wide dynamic range, high sensitivity, and, in particular, the absence of thermoelectric effects, eliminating the need for special measures to compensate for road surface temperature. They are fully embedded in the road surface, IP68 waterproof, and require no maintenance.