On December 30, 2025, the Xinye Road Elevated Highway, implemented by the Municipal Communications Investment Group, was officially opened to traffic, bringing the total operational mileage of the city's expressway network to 180 kilometers and essentially forming the overall framework of Yancheng's "Integrated Rapid Transit System." As a major livelihood project prioritized by the municipal party committee and government, the Yancheng Metropolitan Rapid Transit System, meticulously developed over a decade, represents the largest, most technically complex, and challenging infrastructure project since the city's founding. This system features an internal network, external connections to the expressway ring, and thorough north-south corridors, significantly expanding the city's development framework while greatly enhancing the convenience and experience of residents' commutes. Today, the metropolitan rapid transit system has become a vital carrier and support for Yancheng's strategic path of "Thriving by the Sea, Revitalizing through Green Development, and Transforming with Innovation," continuously infusing strong transportation momentum into the acceleration of building an "International Wetland, Coastal Green City, and Jiang-Huai Gateway."
The Xinye Road Elevated Highway, spanning 3.62 kilometers, was constructed to a dual three-lane standard with a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The project connects to the Yanfu Rapid Corridor in the west and links with Kaichuang Road via a composite interchange, extending eastward to cross key points such as the Chuanchang River, North Renmin Road, and Kaifang Avenue, ultimately achieving a seamless connection with the Fan Gong Road Elevated Highway through turning ramps, successfully establishing an east-west rapid corridor of "Yanfu Rapid Corridor - Xinye Road - Fan Gong Road." As a key project for refining the urban expressway network structure and enhancing the development capacity of the northern city area, the opening of the Xinye Road Elevated Highway not only significantly improves the overall operational efficiency of the road network but will also vigorously drive functional upgrades and urban renewal along its route, injecting new transportation energy into the deep integration of the northern area with the main urban district. The Xinye Road Elevated Highway is an important component of the fourth phase of the Northern Elevated Highway project. The entire fourth-phase project spans approximately 18.3 kilometers and includes several sub-projects such as the northern extension of Kaichuang Road, the renovation of the Beihuan Hub Interchange, the western extension of the Qingnian Road Elevated Highway, and the Xinye Road Elevated Highway. With the successive completion and opening of various sections, including the Xinye Road Elevated Highway, the "East-West Thoroughfare, North-South Linkage" traffic corridor in the urban area has officially taken shape, substantially reducing travel time between the northern area and the main urban district. This "fast-in, fast-out" network structure not only facilitates daily commutes for residents but will also drive upgrades in commercial and residential amenities along the route, laying a solid transportation foundation for high-quality development in the northern city area.
"This is not just an extension of the physical road network, but an expansion of the city's development space," stated a representative from the Yancheng Communications Investment Group. They indicated that the completion of the Xinye Road Elevated Highway will create a more direct and efficient connection between the northern city area and the core main urban district, helping to alleviate regional traffic pressure, optimize spatial structure, and further refine the comprehensive transportation pattern of "Integrated Highways and Expressways, Smooth Internal and External Connectivity." With the smooth opening of the Xinye Road Elevated Highway, the urban expressway network construction task undertaken by the Municipal Communications Investment Group has been fully completed. Since the opening of the Fan Gong Road Elevated Highway in 2015, Yancheng has striven continuously for a decade, steadily advancing its expressway network construction to new heights. Over these ten years, elevated highways such as Fan Gong Road, Qingnian Road, and Century Avenue have been successively贯通, and key nodes like the Yanfu Rapid Corridor, Yanfeng Rapid Corridor, and the Beihuan Hub have been progressively built. Today, a comprehensive, crisscrossing rapid transit network with a total mileage of 180 kilometers has fully taken shape, injecting powerful momentum into the city's high-quality development. The smooth operation of this network relies on professional and efficient maintenance support. The Municipal Highway Engineering Co., Ltd., responsible for the elevated highway maintenance, has achieved a leap from manual to mechanized and intelligent operations—the maintenance team has grown from an initial dozen people to over 120, with equipment increasing to more than 40 units. Through meticulous daily operations and all-weather emergency support, they fully safeguard the safety and smooth flow of the city's arteries.
The crisscrossing rapid transit network not only improves the commuting experience for residents but also profoundly reshapes the city's development pattern. While expanding the urban framework, it significantly enhances operational efficiency and resource carrying capacity, providing solid support for industrial optimization and regional coordination. As the network continues to be perfected, the city's external connectivity has been comprehensively upgraded: Among the 7 highway interchanges on the periphery of the central urban area, 5 have already achieved direct interconnection with the elevated expressway system, allowing vehicles to quickly access the highway ring via the elevated system. Meanwhile, the approximately 30.6-kilometer Yanfeng Rapid Corridor and the approximately 41.4-kilometer Yanfu Rapid Corridor act like two powerful radiating arms, accelerating the integration of Dafeng District and towns along the route into the main city, respectively, and shortening the spatiotemporal distance between the main urban area and counties in the northern part of the municipality, successfully creating north-south axes for urban and industrial development. Furthermore, the rapid transit network links important transportation hubs such as Nanyang International Airport and the comprehensive railway passenger terminal, achieving seamless integration and efficient transfer between various transportation modes like aviation, rail, and highway, providing strong support for building an efficient comprehensive transportation system.
"Previously, dropping off and picking up the kids involved detouring through multiple intersections; now, taking the elevated highway is smooth all the way, saving time and worry, greatly enhancing our sense of happiness," remarked Mr. Yuan, a resident of the northern city area, after experiencing the Xinye Road Elevated Highway. Today, using the elevated highways has become a daily routine for many Yancheng residents. With the network's improvement, the resident commute experience continues to optimize: vehicles can reach the nearest entrance/exit of the highway ring via the elevated system within 15 minutes; the full completion of the Yanfeng Rapid Corridor has shortened the travel time between the main urban area and Dafeng District to within 30 minutes; the official opening of the Yanfu Rapid Corridor means the journey from Yancheng to Funing now takes only about 40 minutes... The substantial increase in traffic efficiency and the growing variety of travel options have significantly improved the quality of life for citizens. A representative from the Municipal Communications Investment Group explained that Yancheng has consistently focused on functional integration and intensive spatial utilization in its rapid road construction. As the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in the region north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu province, the Yancheng BRT system organically connects with the elevated road network, achieving three-dimensional separation of different levels of transportation modes. In 2021, a Semi-Rapid Transit (SRT) system was introduced on the basis of the BRT corridor, further enriching the supply of medium-capacity public transport services. Additionally, spaces under some elevated bridges have been planned for functions such as electric vehicle charging stations, community fitness squares, and street green spaces. Some of these fitness squares have already become popular leisure spots for residents, achieving an organic combination of transportation functions with public services and green ecology.
With rapid roads speeding along and urban development flourishing, as the "Integrated Rapid Transit" framework deepens, Yancheng's locational and spatial advantages will be further transformed into developmental advantages. These crisscrossing urban arteries are carrying Yancheng's confidence and expectations for the future towards broader horizons, injecting inexhaustible momentum into the city's high-quality development.
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